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Number One? 20 Not So Good Categories That The United States Leads The World In

By Michael Snyder, on July 5th, 2011

Is the United States “number one”? Many Americans take deep pride in their nation and the truth is that the U.S. has a lot going for it. The United States has the largest economy in the world. The United States also has the most powerful military on the entire planet. The United States has produced most of the greatest movies that the world has ever seen. But the United States is also number one in a lot of categories that are not go great. If we ever want to turn this country around, we need to be very honest with ourselves. We need to take a long, hard look in the mirror and realize that it is not a good thing that we are number one in divorce, drug addiction, debt, obesity, car thefts, murders and total crimes. We have become a slothful, greedy, decadent nation that is exhibiting signs of advanced decay. Until we understand just how bad our problems really are, we won’t be able to come up with the solutions that we need.

A lot of people that write articles like this have a deep hatred for America. But that is not the case with me. I love the United States. I love the American people. America is like an aging, bloated rock star that has become addicted to a dozen different drugs. America is a shadow of its former self and it desperately needs to wake up before it plunges into oblivion.

If you do not believe that America is in bad shape, just read the list below. The following are 20 not so good categories that the United States leads the world in….

#15 More pornography is created in the United States than anywhere else on the entire globe. 89 percent is made in the U.S.A. and only 11 percent is made in the rest of the world.

#16 The United States has the largest trade deficit in the world every single year. Between December 2000 and December 2010, the United States ran a total trade deficit of 6.1 trillion dollars with the rest of the world, and the U.S. has had a negative trade balance every single year since 1976.

#17 The United States spends 7 times more on the military than any other nation on the planet does. In fact, U.S. military spending is greater than the military spending of China, Russia, Japan, India, and the rest of NATO combined.

#20 The U.S. has accumulated the biggest national debt that the world has ever seen and it is rapidly getting worse. Right now, U.S. government debt is expanding at a rate of $40,000 per second.

So are you convinced that we are in trouble yet?

The truth is that America has changed. Most of us don’t even say hello to our neighbors anymore.

In fact, we have become so self-involved that many of us don’t even notice when someone around us dies.

Just consider the following two examples.

*USA Today recently reported on the body of a dead woman that was not found for approximately a year even though a whole bunch of people walked right past the car where she died….

Bank contractors, inspectors and even the new owner of a foreclosed home walked past the silver Chevy Nova in the garage numerous times before discovering the former homeowner — dead on the front seat.

*In an even more shocking case, the CBS affiliate in Boston recently reported that a dead woman was lying on the bottom of a public pool for two days while large numbers of people swam right over her. How in the world could something like this possibly happen?….

It’s a mystery as murky as the water at Veteran’s Memorial swimming pool in Fall River public pool: how did swimmers, lifeguards, or inspectors not notice a woman’s body at the bottom of the pool for a few days?

Marie Joseph, 36, was last seen at the pool on Sunday. The pool was open to the public Monday and Tuesday with six lifeguards on duty, and no one noticed the body under 12 feet of water.

Most Americans have become so self-involved that they barely even notice anyone other than their family and close friends.

The love of most Americans is growing cold and when the collapse of the U.S. economy happens it is just going to make things worse. Instead of working as a community, most Americans will only be concerned with making sure that their own needs are taken care of.

The United States was once the most blessed nation on the face of the earth, but now we are literally falling to pieces.

Yep, because we have turned away from God. Jesus is coming back soon. Get ready!

Paul

Jesus already came back. He was arrested for truancy and is in some American jail.

Nexus

Another religious nut with beliefs based a collection of fairy tables and fables. No wonder people in the US are shelf absorbed. Religion is a human construct – big asteroid hits the planet, vaporizes mankind – end of religion.

Eric

Hello,

I am Christian, and in the Roman Empire, they thought Jesus was coming to take a great judgment. During WW2, people thought Jesus was coming at their time to take a great judgment. Nothing had happened, therefore I am assume that I don’t think Jesus will come in our live time. Just spread the gospel and give people the hope, not the fear of doomsday.

DownWithLibs

I believe that every generation is led to believe this so that they will live like they are suppose to – in the light of the truth! But, make no mistake, the stage is being set!!!

http://www.collectfreedomnow.com Richard

very true indeed. I believe the most horrible calamity against our heavenly father is that we no longer give him credit for his creation despite all the evidence of a loving wonderful creator.

Jessica

I agree with you Chris. I’m young but lately I’ve noticed a lot of Revelation book scripture coming true. I’ve also been saying for years that all of this fighting against prayer in schools and anywhere else public couldn’t possibly end well. Open acknowledgment of God is not as harmful as forgetting him all together and nobody now a days seems to care at all about anybody else but themselves.

mondobeyondo

Couldn’t have said it better myself.

Highspeed

Honestly, if I were Jesus, I would wait a little while before I came back. It seems to me that we americans are about to get some of our just rewards. I am a christian and I look forward to his return, but unlike most americans I don’t believe we are any more deserving of grace than any other people. Millions of christians aroung the globe have suffered for years and years, whats so special about american christians that because of a little suffering he should part the eastern skies?

bluesapphire

Irony is all of your points supports UN Agenda 21 and its Global Central Plannng….:-(

Michael

Hmmm I thought that just the opposite was the case.

Michael

http://livingstrongandhappy.blogspot.com/ Dr. Martha Castro, MD

Excellent post, like always. I blogged about it. Posted on Facebook, Twittered…the works. Please, do no stop spreading the word. You are doing an excellent job. Thanks so much!

Sam

I agree with Chris Finstad.

The more God is booted from our lives, the more undesirable stuff like abortions, corruption, homosexuality, and so on; move into our lives. People try to protect themselves from all that by insulating themselves, but all they do is destroy communities and society as a whole.

Doubtful

Chris,

Religion and “God” has always been here on earth with man in one form or another. These things never changed our human condition then. Are they supposed to now?

Mikem

I think the corporatization of our politics has a lot to do with our decline. Nothing is done for the public good anymore. Everything done is for the benefit and profit of corporations, and people are conned by the media into voting against their own interests.
Freedom and democracy cannot exist for the sole purpose of turning a profit. The politics of the last 30 years or so has set the stage of our current situation. We as a country gave up on principles and embraced profit at all costs. It will be the end of democracy in America if this continues.

R,Baringer

Yes! When God was removed from the public school system back in the 70’s. You reap what you sow !

dawn

not god out of the school…moms out of the home.

the people raising the children are paid to give them back safe and a bit more educated, social graces, caring for others are moral issues to be dealt with at home…

sadly for kids, daycare/school is their home for half their waking life. and the parent/s is exhausted and has no time…

we only value that which earns money. moms earn nothing. so they obviously have no value.

Prophet

One doesn’t need to hear these stories to realize the love of many Americans is “waxing cold.” Just work in a customer service related job and you will see how nasty, mean spirited, selfish, and hateful people have become. They lack basic human civilization and decency. They lack manners, politeness, and basic human respect.

bert

please proof read for spelling!! too not to.

Mark McBee

We turned away our principles that once make us great. Our leaders don’t even obey the Constitution anymore.

VyseLegendaire

Complete failure on the personal level for the majority of people. Courage starts with the individual.

Steven P. Cornett

I, for one, can only quote Alexander Solzhenitsyn, who put as the cause of the calamitous rise of Communism is Soviet Russia;

Over a half century ago, while I was still a child, I recall hearing a number of old people offer the following explanation for the great disasters that had befallen Russia: “Men have forgotten God; that’s why all this has happened.” Since then I have spent well-nigh 50 years working on the history of our revolution; in the process I have read hundreds of books, collected hundreds of personal testimonies, and have already contributed eight volumes of my own toward the effort of clearing away the rubble left by that upheaval. But if I were asked today to formulate as concisely as possible the main cause of the ruinous revolution that swallowed up some 60 million of our people, I could not put it more accurately than to repeat: “Men have forgotten God; that’s why all this has happened.”

As for what is happening in our country, I would have to give the very same answer.

“Men have forgotten God; that is why all this is happening.”

http://food stingray

horn blow anytime

DownWithLibs

Amen!!!

The Jig’s Up

How could this be happening the author asks. Legalized Hormonal and Surgical Abortion along with the Contraceptive Based Orgasm Obsession.

A loss of Faith of and Fear of God. A loss of belief in Personal Sin.

John Sutherland

America has been conquered from within by the progressives and socialists. While we enjoyed the good life and did not do our own due diligence, they have successfully penetrated our society and our government with the sworn obligation to destroy our American Judeo/Christian culture and our laws.

To suggest that we have become a police state where we are no longer able to travel freely and unmolested from one place to another, or to keep our money that we earn through our own efforts, or to deal with an uncorrupted and serving government, is an understatement.

We are no longer a free people, and until we re-assert the reins of control over our own public servants, nothing is going to change.

We have allowed the fox into the hen house.

Marsha

Chris is right!

preparenow

The real problem in the United States is that nothing has been done to fix the very problems that caused the great recession in the first place.

For every news report we hear that things are picking up a bit, we hear another that says these things might be an illusion.

So where does the truth lie?

The facts are that things are still a little bit shaky and we could be heading into the greatest depression the world has ever known.

Many experts are predicting that by late 2012, we are going to see a global depression on a scale that no one has ever seen before. No history books will have a comparison. The picture is quite grim indeed.

Billions will be unemployed, left homeless and starving, trade packs will be broken, Tariffs raised, boarders closed, anti immigration will be huge. Things are going to be very dark indeed.
Start preparing everyone.

Bloom

The decline of the USA has everything to do with the marrying of government and corporate entities, federal reserve, unchecked government growth and secrecy, political corruption and total disregard for the constitution. This country needs a complete government overhaul. The government should be accountable to the people. Our politicians are not accountable to anyone. They are above the laws they enact for ‘everyone else’. Remove the private pension system and healthcare coverage for elected officials; make them use social security and medicare, medicaid system everyone else has to use. Maybe then, they won’t be so keen to gut it.

WC Nitram

Yea Chris, Same old same old. According to people like you, America is a Christian nation and the majority are religious and believe in God.

Are you saying that the 15% who are not religious have caused all the problems? Wake up Dolt!

America is dying because the new world order nuts want it that way. No constitution, no middle class, no more rights and liberties. Look around Fascism is just about here.

BigM

So to sum it all up, we are not only financially bankrupt, but we are certainly “severely” Morally Bankrupt. Pretty sad when you consider that this nation was proudly founded on Biblical Principles.

gropingnome

International cabal has infiltrated every major organization in order to control and exploit this population with methods that most people cannot even comprehend. Every area of society is being sucked down the same sewer.

This nation is past the point of no return to better times, if for no other reason than that too many puppets are profiting from downfall and are even encouraging such with an overabundance of counselling, policing, guarding, lawyering, drugging, selling, supporting, bombing,replacing, repairing, preaching, screwing, tattooing and related industries.

Conkuur

Technology! I mean we are less dependent on real people. I can even go to the grocery store and check myself out with little to no interaction with a clerk. Shoot! I don’t even have to leave the house. I could get groceries delivered,work from home,talk with friends on the many many social media outlets. All without basically even any real movement (insert reason for Obesity here).

Society has also dictated to mind your own business. Media has told us our neighbors are killers,molesters,users…..etc.. I mean do we really need anymore examples.

You see in movies how a friendly guy helps out a person broken down on the highway only to be shot and his car jacked.

You see the concerned neighbor who calls the police after witnessing a domestic fist a cuffs only to wind up being targeted for harassment by these very same people.

People also look at their time as precious. If I include to many people into my life I will have little time for myself. So if I put the effort to talk to the neighbors and get to know them I have to expend more time to cultivate the relationship and maybe I wont even like them and they wont like me.

Social media groups allow you to pick and choose the kind of people that share your values and/or hobbies. I don’t have to take the unnecessary risk that I might be rejected. Like if I was to just walk up to a random neighbor walking.

We are a media and technology run society. This is a side effect of that kind of society.We become less dependent on the community where we live because now the world is so immediately accessible.

The things that bind a society together are troubles or travesties. 9/11 A perfect example of travesty bringing people together. The problem is if there are no problems we don’t as a society have anything to work towards.

It’s like a relationship. The best and strongest relationships are the ones that struggled together through hard times and persevered.Most of Americans lives are easy even at the poor end compared to other countries.With easy comes sloth.You want a strong nation set goals,set standards,challenge yourselves,stand for something,be moral,strive to be more God-like,get back to basics. Love one another as thyself would be a good start.

Mike M

I’ve heard it put another way.

We’ve asked God to mind his own business and leave us alone and being a gentlemen has done so.

http://www.silverdoctors.com Mr. M

Wow… ^ that’s the only response? Ha.

Yes, I agree we’ve become lazy, ungrateful, impatient, and incorrigible. Who is at fault? All of us. We have allowed eachother this mindset, even promoted it, that every American can have it all.

That is simply not true.

The solution will come in the form of a crisis, where Americans’ delusional shield of protection is ripped away, and reality bitch-slaps them in the face. Then, the true priorities of life will reveal themselves.

As far as Mr. Finstad’s statement goes….eh, do I
really need to refute it at this point?

-SilverDoctors.com
TheViralUnderground.blogspot.com

http://microsoftoutlook R.J.

Chris I could not agree More. Thanks

toto

American and all the rest of nations must learn and practice daily about wisdom of hinduisme and buddhisme on how to be concious in mind,speak and action not aramaic fairly tales

Neil Patel

Check your spelling. Hinduism and Buddhism are based on peace and ahimsa ( non violence). So i agree

http://Jesus-is-Lord.com MP

America does not love the Lord or his word which is the Bible. Sin is a killer–For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord (Romans 6:23). WHAT WE ARE SEEING IS DEATH! What we are seeing is the results of not receiving the love of the truth. In addressing his Father, our Lord Jesus Christ said, “SANCTIFY THEM THROUGH THY TRUTH: THY WORD IS TRUTH.” (ref. John 17:17)

WE ARE SEEING THE RESULTS OF LISTENING TO THE UNSANCTIFIED–THOSE THAT DO NOT LOVE GOD’S WORD. THOSE THAT DO NOT LOVE THE TRUTH. PERIOD. Look at the tv that people watch unashamedly–including so-called Christians–murder, adultery, children disrespecting parents, cursing, lying, envy, foolish talk and jesting, whoredom, sodomy, witchcraft, etc. Then look at society–full of the same types of wicked activities plus all the attendant maladies like ADD, anti-depressants, suicide, “therapy” as people try to cope in the unsanctified lifestyle.

YE MUST BE BORN AGAIN!

TK

AMEN MP!!

Great post!! People would be wise to consider the truth they are reading about Jesus!

william thornton

Are these total numbers or comparable percentage
of populaton numbers

Bill T

Michael

It is a mixture, but I think all of the statistics are helpful.

Michael

KB

The only other thing Americans definitely notice is their beer and whether they have enough on hand…just talk to a checkout person at any popular water-based (i.e., multiple lakes) tourist-destination town and ask what the tourists buy and when. It will be an interesting chat. You can also tell the city-dweller tourists by their sunburns and the fact that they expect you to move when they barrel through, while barking at their children.
The rudeness of American city dwellers nowadays is overwhelming. They reek of it. The men are the worst, and the women not far behind.
And yes, Jesus will be returning, and before it is over, we will be pleading that he comes as fast as he can.

innertrader

Not only have we turned away from the Bible, we have allowed our country to be invaded by foreigners with different values which are now becoming main stream. But as much as anything else, we are allowing the NEW WORLD ORDER, one step at a time, to destroy the values the United States of America once had. Along with the destruction of those values we see the results in the 20 categories listed above. The NEW WORLD ORDER has to destroy those values to merge us with Mexico and other nations. I must say, they are doing a great job!

J. Dyer

Chris is right. It is because this nation has turned away from God. But Jesus is not coming back as a savior again–he’s coming back as a reigning King.

I don’t know when He is coming back, but we’ve got a lot of cleaning up to do before He does. We helped make this mess, and we have the knowledge and power to clean it up. Praying and waiting won’t cut it. Application of God’s law/word will.

TK

AMEN! J. DYER

We as a country do need to apply God’s law!!

ezequiel

the united states has become the roman empire of 21 century

ezequiel

and your country still acting as the moral juge of world

BThumper

Yup, if your like to read scripture, heres yours for the day, 2tim 3.1-5, all of Dan 2 but notice verse 44 and Matt 24, verse 14 is key, who is that speaking about. Its on, bring it!

Rick Johnson

Of course we have the most car thefts, we have the most cars. Just like most of this list, we are number 1 because we have the most of whatever available, drugs, cars, etc.

vicktor

Awh, pretty much BS that America is tops in 20 bad categories. Compare all those 20 to per population, and you will come up that Italy is one of the very top worse, there is more come in Italy per population than anywhere else in Europe. Italy has literally over 300 MILLION TONS of garbage spread just over the Naples area and it getting worse, and it has been going on for 18 years. Yep, genuine pigs!! The Mafia and Camorra run the whole country, everything, cities are in CCCP, Chaos, Confusion, Corruption, Pirating, Rudeness and ignorance wherever you go. Tourists, come at your own risk!!

Janet

Amen, Chris.

Craig

Political corruption, a sold out mainstream media, an uneducated apathetic public, no respect for the Word of GOD or the 10 commandments, massive baby killings and the justification for it, major debt and entitlements, open borders, multiple foreign wars and occupations, and a narsasistic President with dictitoral powers propagating lie after lie after lie, is there any wonder, DUH!!!!

joesixpack

I believe a lot of it is caused by the need for both parents to work to get ahead thereby resulting in lack of good parenting which causes by various mechanisms, lack of effort by students & teachers, lack of demand for better school curriculums(thus the dumbing down effect), lack of TRUE social interaction-not Facebook, texting, etc. And it all just leads to lower expectations and lack of family cohesiveness.

Gary2

And yet many people will bemoan the social/democracy policies of Scandinavia as bad yet they beat us in almost everything.

How can anyone think their social democracy is bad when the evidence says just the opposite.

Capitalism has to be moderated by socialism period. There needs to be a middle ground.

Capitalism is good at generating wealth but very poor in distributing it.

Some socialism is needed to moderate capitalism.

And no I do not mean communism.

Jack

“Progressive” or liberal political dominance (Democrat and RINO) has created a society where manufacturing and innovation are excessively dogged by overbearing unions, regulation and taxation; where welfare creates a dependent class; where education is handicapped by unions and trial lawyers; politically favored groups and government employees have made themselves the new entitled nobility; the government dumped gold backing of the currency and for icing on the cake the political class has abandoned rule of law by the Constitution to seize unlimited power. Only if reform elements like “conservatives” and TEA party activists are able to take charge and follow through.

Gary2

conservative is what has ruined the country and got us in the mess we are in. Take from the poor and give to the rich.

I would like to crush conservative thought and relegate it to the dust bin of histories mistakes.

Conservative=greed over people (GOP)

Klaus

‘The United States was once the most blessed nation on the face of the earth, but now we are literally falling to pieces.

Does anyone have any ideas about why this could be happening?’

Yes, Liberals!@!!

DownWithLibs

And their anti-Christian ideals. You do notice the war on God, do you not?

Gary2

because of conservatives and republicans take from the poor/middle and funnel the wealth to the top.

Honey

Babylon Was Also the most blessed but the blessing were not from God.The Bible state God give wealth (blessing) and no trouble come with it.The USA has always been a troubled nation even in its illusion of blessings.

http://none F.E. Bikle

America spends more money to elect corrupt politicians at every level than all the rest of the countries in the world combined.

DownWithLibs

This is done with money that is stolen from us in various forms.

Rich K

The key word is “reported”. For many of these, we don’t get the full picture from other countries. Nevertheless, I’m sure most of these are true, sadly.

DOUGLAS

look at who’s in jail and what for.go back and see when it started. get back to the happy shot and stop putting them back on the streets and stop feeding them.don’t work you don’t eat.

David

Could any of us picture someone like an Amos, a Jeremiah, or a John the Baptist being given a major media platform in order to help diagnose this country, get at the wound, and allow God to heal it? The truth is, we’re not interested in the truth.

We much prefer to live in a halcyon haze than face the facts. Our television commercials are sheer materialistic fantasy, and we prefer to think that all neighborhoods look like they do in Desperate Housewives, even while the people in them are desperately degenerate.

Let’s be honest, we don’t want the truth, and we’ve built our culture (in part, at least) in the outright denial of it. As long as this is the case, truth will cry out in the streets with no one to listen, and our prophetic truth-tellers will be absolutely marginalized.

It’s rotten, and it’s sick, but apparently the media power-brokers and generally apathetic culture prefer it this way.

So God waits… until we come to the end of ourselves.

don

We are all victims. It is some else’s responsiblity. I deserve more. Our government and many spiritual leaders till us so. By telling us so they retain power over us. Let us become a moral nation again and be responsible for our own actions. Then let us demand more from our leaders and public figures and ourselves .

http://none F.E. Bikle

All the mess of HEALTH CARE would clear up if honest , caring, people were elected to our various political positions. We are governed by gangs of crooked lawyers arguing with crooked lawyers.

http://www.pfxiforex.net/ Marc

Yes, these are signs of a population that has become over indulgent in many ways. Often times there is no question as to whether “we should” only whether “we can”. This is a problem because ethics and morals become twisted as to what is right and wrong. Over indulging in free money created by the Fed is what initially bread this behavior and it has been long in the making. Thirty years or so of increasing entitlement at the cost of the rest of the world. It is simply about sharing folks. That is it. Sharing wealth and opportunity with children from all over the world.

J Coon

There are far too many people like Chris who are relying on their make believe friends and those incompetent nin ka poops in Washington to make everything better.

Everybody needs to get their heads out of the sand, get to work and get rid of the crooks and shysters in NY & DC. Then as a nation, stop trying to control, democratize, finance, and police the entire planet. Take care of our problems first.

Our schools should be teaching our kids how to make a living in the real world of today. Instead they teach calculus and every frigin detail about the civil war you can imagine. No wonder drugs are so popular and prisons are overflowing.

0.0001, the percentage of people who have used their extensive knowledge of the cilil war and how to figure the volume of a sphere to get a job or work a trade. I know high school grads who can’t open a bank account or read a tape measure. Talk about a wasted 12 years, public schools are a breading ground for nonsense, not practical knowledge.

Dishonesty in all levels of society is accepted as if it were okay to lye, cheat, and steal.

Monkey See, Monkey Do, rules the day, in the USA.

signalfire

‘lye’? ‘breading ground’?
Looks like you didn’t pay attention in school either.

Jack Holt

When one leaves God, he doesn’t remain a vaccumn something must fill his heart. The true God has been replaced by a god named “Self.” The new religion is, Worship and Serve the god Self. The belief is, You owe it to Self, or “They owe it to you.” Politicians lead the nation in this worship. They worship Self, so to protect Self they’ll sell out the nation to keep Self in political office. In the worship of Self, politicians will sell the nation to get the votes of minority groups. The worship of god Self has made Congress America’s chief criminal class.
To satisfy Self, husbands and wives betray each other. To satisfy Self, men father children and abandon them for others to support. After all, they say, I must please god Self. To satisfy god Self, lazy people think others owe them so they will lie, cheat and steal to get what others labored to have. And their fellow liars cheaters and thieves, called Congress will rob others and give it to them to get their votes. These all, have no other god but “Me.”
The worship of and service to the god Self is the cause of our nations troubles. The first rule of those who worship God self is, Please yourself no matter what happens to others. The second rule, Take what you want by any means possible no matter how much it hurts others. The third rule, Your rights are superior to the rights of all others. The fourth rule, In all your pleasing, please yourself first. The fifth rule, You have no responsibility to help anyone even yourself. If you take up habits that hurt you, others are responsible to help you, and you have no responsibility to change. That is like the story about a Sunday School teacher, who taught her class, “The Parable of the Good Samaritan.” When she finished, she asked the class, “What do we learn from that parable”? One little boy said, “I learned that when I’m in trouble, someone should help me.”
What has brought on the tragic condition of our nation today? The worship and service of god Self. It’s not about the good of the nation, or others, it’s all about me.

anonymous

remove yourself from the gene pool, retard

John

Anonymous, was that article a little over your head? I think it was….

U must be a democrat

You are the prime example of his point.

http://schmidtreport.blogspot.com Russ

Jack…You hit the nail on the head. As I read this article I couldn’t help but think of Noah’s day and how people were so self-absorbed and mocked both Noah and Methuselah (Noah’s grandfather) for warning the people of the impending doom. When it came, the people flocked to the Arc and begged Noah to let them in, but it was too late. We are real close to that point now. Forget about the false prophets like Harold Camping. God has shut his blasphemous mouth, as he now has had a stroke and can no longer talk. Hmmm! I wonder why? Yet, Jesus is coming soon to take those who believe in Him out of this world to a place of protection. For those of you like anonymous, who is afraid to give his name, you’ve been warned!! God bless Jack, I look forward to meeting you the day we rise to meet Christ!! Praise Jesus!!

TK

AMEN Jack Holt, most Americans are worshiping self, it is Idolatry at the core of most of our problems.

Thanks for posting, it is good to see that there are Americans who still love God!

karen

You are so right, people should listen to the video on youtube by pastor Lindsey Williams he says America will default on it’s debit ceiling he is a pastor for the most rich people in the US, it is even against the law in many states to feed the homeless. I work on a military base and you cannot send out an e-mail on base to help Sharing and Caring it’s against goverment law, it’s your goverment and those greedy lawmakers that want you dumb and greedy and most fall in this trap with a smile, I put out containers so folks will give to help and they walk on by, in there own world this country is very close to a total collapse.

Vietnam Vet with a Conscience

The U.S. has no choice but to default. Technically, the U.S. is already (ALREADY!) in default on it’s debt obligations. In three months when this situation worsens significantly, even O’spirochete won’t be able to con enough idiots into thinking his sphincter stimulation package was enough to recreate the millions of jobs that got shipped overseas by politicians who were only too eager to take the bribes to allow overseas tax shelters for these companies that took ALL OF THE JOBS AWAY FROM AMERICANS!

I have a friend who’s also a vet like me, stuck out in Nebraska somewhere because another vet wouldn’t help him, when he initially said he’d take him in. I live so modestly that most people would cry if they knew how little I spend per year to subsist, as a semi retired Vietnam vet with no pension and no big nestegg that would have been stolen anyway.

the morons who are quoting this bible crap here are delusional, by the way. we don’t need a bunch of bible thumpers to lead us out of this depression we’re in, we need lucid people who don’t believe in hogwash and bullshit to get us out of this.

talking snakes and allegorical crap that makes no sense is not lucid thought. it’s BULLSHIT.

we are all our brother’s keepers. start acting like it

http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com Albert Zabel

I agree with Chris. We do not seek God nor His direction or will. We will pay in the long run.I have seen our decline/decay since in the 1960’s. It seems our government is even more decadent than the general populace.

handog

It’s falling to pieces because of Sin. In addition to the shameful list above we allow the slaughter of a vast number unfettered abortions each year.Try cracking open an egg from a Bald Eagle and see what happens.

I didn’t spend a dime on any patriotic crap this 4th of July. I looked at a flag colored T-shirt at a local store just for kicks. It was made in Indonesia. Why wave a sparkler around? The elites who own and run this country don’t give a rats ass about me.

likeatitn

Great observation/post!

likeatitn

This is a great blog BTW, it’s depressing, but it’s always kept real…keep searching for the truth, because there is a light at the end of the tunnel.

Leo Olson

The more you cite relative to population rather than absolute amounts, the more weight your article will carry. After all, there are only three, maybe four countries with larger number of people. Fine, think absolutes in ethical or moral terms if you like, but cite cases or amounts per person to compare to other countries.

CincyChris

Americans are mind slaves….

Renbe

Americans are mindless slaves….

J.L Hollwell

The invasion of entertainment interests over any rational understanding: Americans’ love- affair with BS. If you have any doubt about the American character, just look at what we have for TV advertising! It is done this way because it works. People buy it.
Too many people equate schooling with education. Even Govts are not really interested in true education: It’s rather jobs, union interests—-and the bottom line? Make sure there is a stupid, diverted complacent voting population.
And then there’s the ‘Jesus’ bit. Few really know nor care about this mythical history. Bible thumpers, yes but cherry-pickers, great example: the ‘same-sex marriage problem. None cite Ecclesiastes Ch4 8-12. Written about 500BC, it deals with the importance of two people together. IT SAYS NOTHING ABOUT GENDER NOR MARRIAGE FORMALITIES.
Where are our ‘thumpers’ on this one? Hypocrites all.

DownWithLibs

I believe continually spitting in Gods face may have a lot to do with it. No morals, lack of individual integrity, backward ideals, and on and on. Yep, stick a fork in us!!!!!

TK

AMEN! We are spitting in God’s face, and his mercy will be cut off one day in wrath and judgement.

Rowell

You don’t have to believe in God or have a religion to have a good moral base. I’ve always been taught “Do unto others as you would have done to you”. Every time I’ve had an inkling about doing something mean/bad to another person, I stopped and thought “how would I like it if this were done to me?” And that would stop me in my tracks.

Using God as a crutch to justify good, moral behavior is the same thing as anyone that is too lazy to work and depends on welfare. A person shouldn’t need the promise of some afterlife in some idyllic setting to be a good person. Treating others how you would like to be treated should be enough.

Sorry if this comes across as strong/inflammatory, but seeing the constant posts about “we need to get back to God” is wearing a little thin. We all really need to act like responsible human beings and treat eachother like we would like to be treated.

DownWithLibs

If there is no ultimate consequence for deciding one way or another, what would it matter to choose the right way? What would be the incentive? Why not have all the “fun” you can while you can? You really do have to be “with God” to understand this difference. We Christians know that every move and every decision that we make through out the day are being cataloged by God. Thankfully we are saved by the Blood of Christ, the Grace of God, but we still need to be good advocates of Christ. Going on a murder spree while saying we are Christians would not be a good thing and could end up costing us a lot.

You are free to chose what you want to believe is true, but the Truth is the Truth and belief in it or not wont change that fact. Trusting in God is a wonderful thing. It’s not scary or mystical. I truly hope you can find a relationship with Christ some day. You will not regret it. I promise!!!

TK

Rowell,

Your comment is typical of what is going wrong with America. Allow me to detail:

You believe that morality comes from self instead of God. People that believe like you do are destroying America.

Example: If you decided that stealing is wrong, and I decided that stealing is OK, neither of us are wrong because we decide our own morality.

What is the solution? Allow the creator of heaven and earth to lay the base line for morality (which by the way is the Bible).

Speaking of the Bible, you wrote “Treating others how you would like to be treated should be enough.” I agree, but you have forgotten the rest of the commandment,

Matthew 22:37-40 Jesus said to him, You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like to it, You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.

Rowell

I have to object, TK. “People that believe like you do are destroying America.” What kind of comment is that? I have a very good sense of moral values, that I would put up against any Christian, Muslim, Jewish, etc. I don’t need to fear some omni-present figure, or be bribed by some promise of an afterlife to live a good life. I know that, when I die, that’s it…there’s nothing left after that. And to be honest, I’m perfectly fine with that. But while I’m alive, I want to live a good life, and to do so means “playing well with others”. If I treat my neighbors terribly, I know that I’ll be treated terribly in return. I know that if I steal, rape, murder, pillage, etc…society will punish me. I don’t want bad things to happen to me, so I will not enact them against other people.

I’m sorry, I just don’t feel the need to have something over me to be a moral compass. I know right from wrong. I’ve been faced with situations where I’ve been presented the easy, “sinful” way but elected to do the right thing…while christian friends opted to take the less moral route.

We are each unique. Judging someone based on their religious (or lack thereof) beliefs is simply closeminded. You’re welcome to your religious beliefs, as is anyone else. But when you start saying “we’re in this mess because of you godless heathens”, that’s when I take offense.

John

We chose to take this route by cultivating the weak and the wicked at the expense of the strong and the good. Our own compassion is our undoing. We feel so sympathetic for the less fortunate and want to help, but we don’t take the time to see if the less fortunate deserve help. Some of the less fortunate chose to be less fortunate by being lazy or self destructive.

Look at healthcare as an example. Some claim that anyones healthcare is everyones responsibility. Yet 50% of all health care costs are directly or indirectly related to obesity. What percentage do you think is related to smoking, drinking and drug abuse? What percentage is not self inflicted?

Gary2

OK Ayn Rand, now back in the real world…

Green Mountain

Great reply Gary! So well thought out. But how about providing a little bit more of an argument in refutation of John’s comments. I would like to hear it. Thanks.

Gary2

We need single payer like all the other advanced countries. This is so obvious I need not explain it.

Because we are a somewhat compassionate people, even obese folks will get care by going to the ER, which believe me they do as I used to be in healthcare. This is by far the most expensive care.

It was my assumption that john wanted to let the less deserving die in the streets. His position was so beyond the mainstream and radical that I thought an equally radical reply was warranted.

I get so sick of the selfish ayn rand craziness that is seen in the repubes who seem to idolize this selfish hypocritical atheist that I can not believe any church going person could ever vote repube as they support her.

A.S.

I am a 37-yr old male, NEVER smoked, NEVER took illegal drugs, AVOID prescription DRUGS, ALMOST NEVER drink, and am 125 lbs. MOST of my recent blood work is excellent. So why shouldn’t I pay around $20 per month for health insurance? Ah–because some idiot that is a fat, smoking, drug addicted idiot, needs 24/7 ambulance and emergency care.

If the NWO is real, let them take away these idiots first!

Gary2

I am happy you are in good health, I really am. Odds are that if you do not die in an accident you will at some point in your life get sick and need medical care.

Does it make you feel superior to put down the fat, smoking, drug addicted idiot, needs 24/7 ambulance and emergency care.

OK Ayn Rand, time to get back to reality.

Green Mountain

Gary2,

We are in this gigantic mess that we now find ourselves in, in large part because of the sickening welfare mentality wrought upon civilized nations by the Utopian left-wingers such as yourself and dawn. Individuals like yourself obviously have no clue what real compassion is.

Let me explain it to you: Real compassion is rejecting laziness, tolerating mediocrity, and rewarding risk, hard work, and greatness. Enabling people to provide for themselves and their families, by getting them off the gov’t teat is real compassion.

Left-wing compassion is keeping people dependent on the government; keeping people lazy; encouraging them to reproduce and keep their prodigy on the next gov’t handout.

People who do not work are miserable. They are not happy. How is that compassionate?

People who work and have removed themselves from the gov’t umbilical cord are productive, happy, and have a fulfilling sense of worth.

People who milk the welfare system their entire lives are not happy, not productive, and constantly vote Democratic to keep themselves dependent on the State, thus perpetuating their cycle of hopelessness and misery.

You all should be ashamed of yourselves. Don’t forget what Jesus said regarding feed a man a fish versus teaching him how to fish. Ayn Rand glorified the possibility of man’s innate greediness because it led to great things. It led to the Industrial Revolution and the advancements in mass communication, transportation and medicine.

But most importantly, on a more personal and individual level, it leads to WANTING to work and to provide a decent living– and sometimes wealth– for your family. And a decent living adds up to your own health care plan and providing that single most important element– after food and shelter– to your family ON ONE’S OWN ACCORD.

And not the accord of the government. The gov’t has no business forcing you to buy their plan. That is preposterous. What do you think is going to happen when the nationalized health care system that O has wrought upon us is heading towards bankruptcy? What is going to happen when cost-containment is needed?

Answer: there will be rationing and/or government mandates dictating what people can do to their own bodies through force or through customized higher premiums.

“Other advanced countries” you say Gary2? Last time I checked, other advanced countries were going bankrupt just like us? Other Socialist, nanny-state E#uro governments were also feeling the considerable pinch of the global economy. It’s overspending, Unions, nationalized health care, etc. that has all led them down this path– AND NOT FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY.

dawn

karma is a bitch goddess dude…

you can learn compassion the easy way or the hard way…and you have rejected the easy way.

Rhinehart Fox

I’m with you A.S. I’m 56. I’ve watched my diet, taken supplements and worked out for my entire life. I walk down the street and rarely see someone who looks healthy. They drag their bloated asses into McDonalds and use food stamps to pay for their next coronary. It was bad enough when my private health insurance reflected the cost of carrying the walking dead. Now we have to carry an entire nation where 30% of the population is obese and dialysis is the fastest growing “industry”. As I keep saying, forget fixing the system. It will collapse under its own weight (pun intended). These are all symptoms of much deeper problems. Prepare yourself and your loved ones to survive its fall. Make peace with your maker ’cause we all die sometime.

For Gary2 and the rest of the utopians, don’t worry about a thing. The gov’t will help you and you can move into the rich nobleman’s villa as soon as you ********************. Viva la revolucion.

Rowell

Some things are beyond a person’s control. You can never taken drugs, never drunk alcohol, be in perfect physical health and still suffer from a stroke or heart attack due to your genetic make up. I’ve seen it first hand where someone in perfect health falls over dead due to gentics (enlarged heart). You can never know for 100% certainty that this sort of thing will never happen to you.
And guess what, you’re aging. Your body is constantly changing. You may be healthy now, and have lymphoma next year.

That is the price we all pay for insurance…protection against the unexpected.

Sarah Stockhausen

Of course they are #1 in all these categories as you are speaking in total numbers and not relative percentages. USA has one of the highest populations in the world. Insulting article to my intelligence. Signed, A Canadian

bp storm

We may have almost 400 million people, but, China has 1.2 billion. China has 1/4 the prison population that we do. If you do the math, it comes down to the U.S. locking up 12 times as many people. China is an oppresive society as well! At least that’s what we are told in America, how about Canada?

Mary Reale

Yes, becaues we through God out of school, and are doing our best to through Him out of all our public life. As a result we have also pushed Him out of our private lives. I don’t think He will return soon. I think He is waiting for us to see our folly and repent and turn to Him once again.

A.S.

You should read what the Lubavitcher Rebbe said about school prayer–he was actually for it, but since there is a “separation of church and state,” which is a misconception to begin with, all he could publicly request is a “moment of silence” to begin each school day.

Gary

There are many impacts to the US and our No.1 standing in these categories.
With the amount of readily available information , the instant gratification demanded by many of our children (mine included), and the overwhelming sense of self imporatnace, it is no wonder we are in this situation.
I also believe advertising has been the progenitor of substituting inanimate objects, for attention and concversation in our families.
Our Puritanical roots have a direct link to pronography, alcohol and drug abuse, and an increase in the crime rate.
We just returmed from Europe (Italy and France), and i was amazed and refreshed by people who actually enjoyed life!
Americas drive to be “Number one” has provided the good, bad and the ugky we know seem to be surrounded with, and the way out is going to be painful.
Thomas Jefferson, where haveyou gone?

Dr. Schadenfreude

The writer adds an early comment: “If we ever want to turn this country around, we need to be very honest with ourselves.” Practice what you preach: Greatest movies (By inflated dollar value? Most CGI with a poor script of bad remake?) Largest economy? Quote sources please…
As a retired sociologist/anthropologist it is an EASY equation to solve as to why the U.S. has become what it is. Observe how many people on this site (et. al.) want to speak their minds but are not LISTENING to what goes on in the minds of others in their society. (Read multiple comments to understand the human condition.) Take note of the redundancy. People here should begin to study what happens to ANY society when social cohesion collapses- and WHY it breaks apart. Welcome to the police state. This IS terrorism. It’s not an import from the Middle East.
As an aside, IMHO eschatology will create enormous amounts of wasted time and effort with no return other than “hope.” Any who delve into this “witchcraft” probably had a certain expectation of “hope” to begin with. Much ventured, nothing gained.
Matt. 24:36 All else borders on blasphemy. Learn when you cannot know something and find peace that it’s God’s knowledge and not ours. Know your place with God.
Define when the U.S. actually turned “to God” and I’ll show you the quintessential definition of a dubious grasp of history and statistics. If you want to be challenged go read Nostradamus. It won’t fix anything for you, but it will keep you occupied and out of the way.
Dr. S.
PS: “Does anyone have any ideas about why this could be happening?” Don’t ask questions that you don’t want answers too…

lexy

Dr.S,

As I read through the comments I was more and more dismayed…until I got to yours. Thank you so much for giving me a sliver of hope that there are still some intelligent people left in America. What a shame, what a shame!

Dr. Schadenfreude

Thanks for the encouragement lexy. Perhaps if more of us could get past the self-righteous, moralizing and judgmental ignorance we might find that we really aren’t all that different. There’s hardly any actual difference between all of us once we remove the religious and political leaders from our lives. The vast majority simply want to be free to live without threat from others.

I agree with your dismay. Perhaps we place too many expectations on each other in the midst of inescapable dramatic social/technological change. “It’s better to be a dog in a time of peace, than a man in a time of chaos.”

Too many preachers with no followers means everyone is desperate to be heard and afraid of what they see (desperation, anger and fear- usually a very powerful combination.)

In my opinion, the sober-minded (not drunk on religion or power or capital) might do well to listen closely and speak little. As sad and selfish as that may seem- no one may be listening and/or properly evaluating in any case. The old adage: “Wait for a drowning victim to exhaust himself or he will pull you down with him” may apply here.

Innumerable societies have fallen under this totalitarian oppression before and there is NO OTHER WAY out but to forcefully take it back from this (granted excessively militarized) extremely small minority of obviously inept bankers/elitists/classists who don’t have the ability to lead properly at a global level (> 50,000 globally).

Listening to all this chaotic dogmatic claptrap I imagine we’re somewhere between denial and anger. Fascism is here, right now, and we haven’t resigned ourselves to it. We have to comprehend what that means.

“None are more hopelessly enslaved than those who falsely believe they are free” – Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Thanks again and best of luck!

http://www.yahoo.com/ Jennah

Evyernoe would benefit from reading this post

Jerry Hewes

Mankind has been using the material perspective for thousands of years. It is of course a wrong perspective for which religion tries to compensate. However religion itself is unaware of its bondage to materialism because it sees this existence also as material which leaves religion with only material solutions here upon earth.

Material solution to our non-material problems don’t work, never have, never will. Our problem is our focus and presently it is material, exclusively. Our problem is mental because we focus materially and being a wrong focus creates all sorts of mental aberrations including the failure to determine just what is important. There is no morality emanating from a material perspective and consequently we are forced to believe in moral propositions like those of religions.

There is no moral proposition that is verifiable materially speaking. None! This fact alone forces us to form democracies and fight wrongness throughout the world and even as this article verifies within the very fortress we want to think is paramount to human existence.

Nope. Individuals are the only thing paramount to human existence, not governments, not religions and certainly not any ism. The thing of utmost importance is perspective. A wrong perspective will accumulate the most negative consequences in the most advanced nation, the USA, sooner than anywhere else.

It’s a very natural event happening again and again throughout history. It is here that all the wrong conclusions become the consequences at mega scales we haven’t a clue how to resolve. In a blind attempt we built what we think are the finest “correctional” institutions, the finest education system and the finest government only to fall behind the rest of the world. Sure we have the largest economy but to what end?

The right perspective answers the question “What is important?” It is that we and all things are made of value. It changes how we perceive existence and yields a whole new set of consequences because we can now make full use of our rationality simply because we are using a correct perspective. It would change human existence totally if we would just make this change. But I hear the response now. This guy is nuts. It is your choice. You reap what you sow. What we have is testament to what we have planted.

Teacher of the First Order

TK

You miss the greatest truth in all of the World, and I will spell it out for you:

This world has come about because God has created it, and because God has created it, He as creator has every right to judge it according to His perfect will.

All judgement and power has been given to His Son Jesus Christ, repent of your sins and believe in the only name known among men that can save.

craigsilver

Why ask for ideas if you won’t post them

http://none Richard O Ranheim, MD

Regarding the following :
1) The incarceration rate is high due to the stupidity of the courts and judges. There is absolutely no excuse for drug dealers being in jail.
10) This is politicians sucking up to the electorate. The voting public gets what they ask for.
10; 12; 13; and 15 : People put their money where they choose.
14) Greedy college and university administrators know the public believes in a college education. So, they charge what the traffic will bear. You don’t need a college diploma! The man that has done most of my plumbing since 1975 told prior to his death : “doc, I’d make a fortune today. The young won’t go under homes on piers or go in attics. I will”.
17; 18; 219; 20 : We elect stupid people because intelligent, ordinary citizens won’t fun for office due to the gauntlet one has to put up with.
I was born in 1935. The country was one Hell of a lot better off then despite FDR.

Ken Macdonald

Looking at the problem from Canada, we can’t help but see the hypocrisy in America’s claim to be a christian nation.

http://none Richard O Ranheim, MD

You mean to tell me that you don’t believe the courts and judges are stupid? Judges should throw a lot of cases out of court and quit wasting their time and our money.
College and university administrators are not greedy?
You don’t believe that only second rate people run for elective office due to the gauntlet one has to run during the election campaign?
You can’t use the word Hell any more?

http://none Richard O Ranheim, MD

If you have ridiculous standards like you seem to imply, don’t bother.

jay

I just finished reading a book , that pretty much tells how the world really works if you read between the lines , Man Greed and the Economy is it’s name , it’s a very strange read
more strange than whats here

http://www.inetgalaxy.com PhilG

1. Take the Bible out of the schools.
2. Take prayer out of the schools.
3. Legalize abortion.
4. Legalize other sin.
5. Bail out the ones who caused the downfall of our economy, but let the people suffer.
6. Well, do I really have to go on?

Hmmm, maybe we are on a roll…

DownWithLibs

It’s called a downward spiral and we are about to hid bottom…HARD!!!

John Bortz

In God we Trust is out the door…we do not believe in anything greater than ourselves anymore.

TK

AMEN! John Bortz

http://jb.3@cox.net Imaplaneiac

I was born in 1950. Back then, America was mainly a Christian nation! People knew the difference between right and wrong – and practiced what they believed in. However,I concur … that this country has degenerated to such a degree that wrong is now right and right is now wrong! And so Almighty God now permits this country to suffer the inreasingly more frequent and violent so-called ” natural ” disasters.In fact, these are ” wake-up calls ” from Almighty God! These are a ” preview ” of greater chastisements that will befall this country if it continues on its course of degeneration and evils of all sorts!

Having served a career in our Armed Forces, I’ve lived overseas for extended timeframes. Returning back home …I readily realized the culture of evil and sin that America has devolved to. Yet apparently, the majority of Americans think this depravity is ” normal “!? It cannot be denied that America is a cesspool of evil and immorality.

One need only watch the television programming that pollutes the airwaves of our country 24/7; to confirm this degeneration and depravity! I’ve often wondered what impression this rubbish gives to foreigners visiting this once Godly nation!?

Wake up America!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

bp storm

Sure.

Leaving America Behind

The love of money is the root of all evil. Americans will do anything for money. Anything.

jay

true, greed greed greed

mondobeyondo

True.

The LOVE of money is the root of all evil.
Money in and of itself is not evil. You need money to buy food, gas, electricity, water, etc. People in poorer parts of the world know this. They thank GOD (not money) for the ability to purchase a bowl of rice or whatever.

When you get to the point of desiring money more than God – more money for your Caribbean vacation, or for a brand new Porsche (“gotta have it!!”) – then money becomes your god. You begin to worship money, because it provides the means of purchasing your Porsche, or XBox, or home theater system. Right then and there, people misplace their priorities. The very first commandment says, “Thou shalt have no other gods before me”!

TK

AMEN! mondobeyondo

likeatitn

Sure seems that way doesn’t it?

Tracy Anspach

Let’s please look a bit deeper than a growing disbelief in bronze age fairy tales. This is a circular reference but here it is:

This country is being run into the ground by “banksters” and We-The-People are doing nothing about it.

Chris Y Point

Why? Why?
1) the US killed over 16 million Natives to steal their land
2) the US allows other people to steal other people’s lands: Israel stole Palestine – the British stole Diego Garcia for the American Base.
3) the US supported S African Apartheid (until Black Americans woke up), now Israel Apartheid.
4) the US always finds somebody to be at war with and is always bombing or sanctioning some country.
Why? ‘Whatsoever a man soeth’ comes to mind. The us has killed, destroyed and stolen and somehow our country is being systematically killed, destroyed and our livelihood stolen.

That’s why.

mondobeyondo

Oh, but you forgot… we are so free! We support liberty! The U.S. wages wars because we want the oppressed populations to be democratic and free!

Granted, I’ve never lived overseas. But I get a strong perception, that other people don’t see the U.S. as we who live within its borders, see it.

DownWithLibs

And we have yet to conquer and keep the places that we have liberated. That is what sets us apart from the other Empires before us. As far as the whole “stole land from the Indians” thing, we were to spread Christianity (as allowed by God). It wasn’t pretty or perfect, but it got done. And this is coming from a 1/8th Cherokee Christian ;-)!

Polyphemus

Err… When did we give back California, Nevada, Texas,Arizona, Puerto Rico, Hawaii..etc.? We conquered/liberated those and we have kept them ever since.

So killing people, taking their land, and enslaving another group to help you is the Christian way? “Not pretty or perfect?” Talk about an understatement.

DownWithLibs

Give them back to WHO? Mexico? Yeah, they would like that.

FB

Israeli apartheid? People like you make me sick. YOU are a major part of the problem in this country.

DownWithLibs

Just another one who needs to return to history class!!!

j

It’s because we are greedy, we have been taught as a society that the best way to get ahead is to stick it to the next guy, look at the financial crisis of 2008′ everyone was trying to f… Everyone else and when the cards fell no one was sure who got f….. It turned out they all did, and needed the gov to bail them out. When this country falls it won’t be a financial crisis or economic crisis it will be because we f….. Ourselves.

James

We are the whore of babylon – this country is being judged right-now! It all started with the Madelyn Murray -Ohair winning over the ultra liberal Supreme Court led by Judge Earl Warren, Blackmun, Douglas, Brennan and Harlan.
We are at the precipice of disaster – much like Rome in AD 410 when Alaric sacked the city.

Nostradamus

The USA is more than a country. It is a huge continent blessed with immense natural resources. But in the span of a short century, its people has sucked the place dry. Replaced by million miles of highway, 250 million vehicles, a million fast food restaurants, housing and lodging cover half the landscape.

The root causes of America decline are all well-known in history. After winning WW2, the country acts with the mind and force of empire, policemen of the world, exporter of ideology with the zeal of religion mission. By the mid-80’s, this culture, which has grown unchecked, has gone out of control.

The US political system has not served people for about 25 years now. It serves its own power interests. As such, it performs where the money is. It does not address national problems, leaving that noble business to ‘market forces’.

By the mid-1990, America can be summed up simply:

a) Politics for global imperial power.
b) Everything else is ‘market force’, for a price, for a profit.
c) Supply of US dollar is endless; debt and deficits don’t matter
d) Everybody for him/herself.
e) Suck the place dry; this quarter over next generation.

And so, as in all history, USA will follow the path irreversibly to the dustbin.

Nick

This article can’t be accurate. I just saw on Fox News that America is perfect in every way.

liberranter

If we ever want to turn this country around, we need to be very honest with ourselves.

I don’t think I need to tell anyone who regularly reads this blog that that is something that is never, EVER going to happen. Amerika just doesn’t do “introspection,” a word that most of its pig-ignorant population couldn’t even spell, let alone define.

Does anyone have any ideas about why th[e self-absorption of the Amoricon sheeple] could be happening?

You answered that yourself, Michael, with the examples you cited. What else could possibly be happening as normal life in a nation populated in the main with shallow, ignorant, lazy, narcissistic, selfish assholes?

dawn

some leading by example might be a good start…bosses tell employees ‘not enough money this year for raises’ boss goes on european vacation with family.

lesson screw over the little guy for your creature comforts.

poor guy goes to prison for stealing a tv…banksters ruin countless lives with money they used/stole and they not only don’t go to prison, they get bonuses…hell no one in their business lost money, the people running the con always pay themselves.

lesson it is okay to steal if it is a lot of money…

tom

Hollywood is full of “REALITY” shows that are based on confrontation and lack of respect of others.Sex and violence is the agenda of most shows we see.We are being told we cannot say God,fly the flag,or speak out against their agenda without being called racist,bigots,etc.We have no body to blame but ourselves as we allow it to continue.To destroy a country fro with in you must destroy their moral values firstand then they become imune to others suffering

tom

what moderation is needed? what is unapropriate??

http://www.survivalboards.com/ Kevin

News like this makes me sad

#17 The United States spends 7 times more on the military than any other nation on the planet does. In fact, U.S. military spending is greater than the military spending of China, Russia, Japan, India, and the rest of NATO combined.

My taxes dollars at work bombing some third world country back to the stone age. Instead of using tax dollars to help mankind, its used to build war machines.

The direction this nation has taken is really sad. We have sacrificed our love for one another, on the alter of profits and greed.

There was once a time when people cared about each other, but that time passed away decades ago.

dawn

get the working class republicans to blame the poor…text book how to oppress…

get the people to help oppress themselves. if they are fighting among themselves they are not fighting the oppressor.

Sandy the Swede

You asked for ideas as to why.
1. SELF-INDULGENCE: You can blame my generation – the 60’s generation. Sex, drugs, and rock ‘n roll. All indicative of self-indulgent behavior. We wanted it all and we wanted it now. Standards are the “rules” by which a cohesive society disciplines itself. Standards went out the window. “If it feels good, do it. So what if it’s immoral; hey, it’s legal. It’s only sex (actually, it was lying about sex).”
2. SELF-DECEPTION: We came to believe that you could get rich without working or without investing. When that didn’t work, we want to tax the rich some more because “it just isn’t fair that there are some that have more than I do.”

Although I firmly believe in separation of Church and State, I sometimes ask myself, “If we turn our backs on God, will He turn his back on us?”

Of course, I cannot predict the future, but virtually everyone I talk to about this issue shares with me a gut feeling that the lives of most Americans are going to change drastically very soon – and not for the better. As someone smarter than me said recently, “We don’t necessarily get what we wish, but we most often get what we deserve.”

First comes the fire. Only then will you see the shoots of new growth.

Dirk den Hartog

Enough with the religous crap.

I escaped the USA in 1989 and thank my lucky stars everyday.

I am truly living the American Dream in another country which is NOT full of Buybull thumping morons.

This country is full of intelligent people who hate war and do NOT go aggressively killing people.

We have so few criminals we actually shut down a prison last year. And smoking pot is legal

True Humanism…try it and *************** crap.

Brian McDonald

been reading the comments here and frankly it’s mindboggling in the depths of stupidity and ignorance.
if you people are typical americans it’s too late to save your country i fear.

international cabals???
loss of faith in god???

try self indulgence take to the extreme.

try an educational system that abjectly fails most of the kids and going by the apparent age of posters has been doing so for a LONG time.

try telling kids the world doesn’t like people who cannot make change properly.

try telling kids they are actually responsible for what they do.

try telling kids to have somewhat realistic ambitions. not everyone gets to drive a porsche or have a condo at the beach.

better yet tell them that relationships involve working at it.

try educating kids to actually THINK about what they are told. a working BS detector is such a great thing as hard on international cabals and god as it will be.

maybe the next generation will be capable of understanding that socialism isn’t inherently bad and capitalism isn’t inherently good.

teach your kids history, the real history not the whitewashed version that passes for it. if you don’t understand where you came from how are you supposed to know where you are going?

try to teach kids to think longer term rather than always now now.

maybe me me my my has to yield to us us ours ours sometimes.

A.S.

The author asked, “Why is this happening?” You are a Christian–you should know! When belief in G-d is taken out of the home, school, work, government, streets, what else can happen other than fat, greedy, immoral people for generations to come?!

Charles

Well Chris, taking into account that the founding fathers were atheists, maybe we should try the Devil to see if that would help.

Harry Johnson

The decline began under the regime of ronald reagan the country’s first salesboy president. He lived salesboy values, do anything to get the sale, facts do not matter, appearances are all important, lying and spin is the whole game. Since America became a service economy, a country of salesboys, nothign has been right. It has been the republiCON, CONservative wrong wingnut teabaggers that ruined this country with their inbred hatred of working people, with their whining about unions asking for a fair wage. They would rather wreck the country than pay working people decently because that is against their salesboy marketeering trash values. Then they elected the ultimate spoiled brat frat boy the little bushjunior riding daddy’s buddies and his money to complete the wreckage of this once great country. The republicON CONservatives have hated this country and working people always and regretted that they did not wreck the country in 1929. The republicon bush family and their ilk supported Hitler in their greed to make money and wished he had been here. With their little boy bushjunior and president cheney in the White House, they got their wish and finally wrecked the country for decent people.

Nostradamus

I opened a special book in 1997. It claims to be a book of history; but its authors made projections and prophecies based on deep insight of history. Here is what the book says:

3. America will enter civil upheaval, even violence, by 2013. This development has been building for a long time. It is reflected in politics where liberal and conservative ideologies have become fundamentalist, extreme and irreconcilable.

4. America will enter the age of national disruption and possible breakup in 2015. This will be the Second American Civil War. The war will last 5 years.

As I look back, 3 of its major predictions have come true.

Arthur Athens

When different portions of society see nothing but self interest as opposed to any sense of common good it’s everyone for himself. When even the Supreme Court expresses favoritism for each judges personal bias rather than what the written laws say, when the only right way belongs to those with money then all support for the common good, fairness, respect for every citizen, worship of great wealth no mtter how obtained, the sense of common values, purpose and national goals disappears. Having the greatest military being used to force all othere natins to accept our views or we’ll bomb them all to hell does not make us an admired nation. WE don’t admire ourselves and our bullying tactics which we use even on our own citizens. The fabric of a once great nation is torn and it may never be recovered. It will take the visions of new men like Jefferson, Adams, Franklin, and Washington to stop our slide into the greater greed that discourages and saddens me.

James Henry

Our Constitution called for a free and independent people with firm reliance on Providence If we as Americans can re-discover our firm dependance on Almighty GOD for our future and hope, we can again truly become One Nation Under God and the seeds of corruption shall be vanquished.

mondobeyondo

Ever figure out WHY this country had it so good for so long? In the beginning (the only quote from Genesis that I’m going to type here!!) – the country was founded on morals and Biblical beliefs. God blessed us for this, by providing rich farmland, and material prosperity. People had respect for authority. People would dress up to go to church on Sunday morning.

Not anymore. We turned our backs on God. We kicked Him out of our schools, and public life in general. God is constantly being mocked. Many people, when they refer to God these days, follow it with a curse word. (God’s last name isn’t “dammit”!) Abortion, decadence and a general decline in society, with real morals almost nonexistent. Not only is the Constitution being destroyed, people want to throw the Ten Commandments in the trash bin as well.

And you expect God to still bless us for all this?? I’m surprised He hasn’t destroyed us already. Sodom and Gomorrah didn’t end up as well as the U.S. is doing… for now.

Honey

This country has never been good.It was founded on bloodshed and murder.A nation of Christians who spit in the face of Jesus The Christ teachings.

John Sutherland

mondobeyondo, thank the democrats, the progressives, and the hidden power elite for those destructive changes to our culture and to our laws. The good, productive, and God-fearing Americans have to rise up and be heard once again.

But, we can do it.

mondobeyondo

Our collective memory is very short. God’s memory is very, very long.

In Leviticus 26, God explains to ancient Israel what would happen if they went astray. The same thing applies to America in the early 21st century. We change. God and His laws and commandments do not.

The U.S. has gone astray. And if we don’t repent and turn back soon, we will eventually suffer the fate of ancient Israel. Conquered, and led into captivity by a foreign enemy. (Probably China this time.)

Kelly

God or religion is not the answer. We created the problems and only we can solve the problems. Selfishness and Greed are the problems. We spend more on entertainment like football, basketball, baseball, golf, gambling, church, vacation, traveling, boating and the like that do nothing but drain resources, energy, effort and time and give us back nothing in return. Totally none productive, massive waste of human energy. Mean while we spend massive amounts of everything on Wars and preparing for wars. And then we have a medical system that is the very best at numbing symptoms instead of curing the disease. We are the very best at destroying, killing and having fun. How virtuous and noble we are. People having such priorities will get exactly what they deserve. Karma will prevail.
If we just cared about everyone and everything and outlawed Greed and Selfishness, or at the very least turned our back on such behavior then all things would take care of themselves. We have to love and care and have compassion for all life. Nothing else will ever work in the long term.

Neil Patel

Do not blame religion. It promotes good morals and faith. Many Americans are simply nonreligious and or lacking in moral values.

conurse

Religion poisons EVERYTHING!

Joe

Many good comments here. For those who know their Bible, what is going on in the world is no surprise. It was prophesied long ago. And things will get worse, as world wide economic deterioration accelerates this decline. There are many things to point to as the causes, but some of the more easy to recognize reasons were described in 2 Timothy 3:1-4. In a nutshell, these scriptures describe psychopaths, sociopaths, sycophants and others. One outstanding characteristic they all share is a near total lack of conscience. We are experiencing a bumper crop of these people around the world. They dominate the news every day. Fortunately, the Bible also indicates what the future holds, and one thing for sure, conscientiousness people who willfully do what is wrong will not be a part of that future.

RTC

Psalm 33:12

Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD; and the people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance……

Honestly,are the people of the USA a nation of God Almighty? Of his son Jesus Christ? God is righteousness…If your nation is a servant to wickedness,than how could they possibily have a God,the ONLY God of righteousness? YOU CAN’T…

Any nation that refuses to serve God will crumble. This country makes me sick to my stomach. Homosexuality is an ABOMINATION before the eyes of God!!!…It’s wrong,it’s UNHOLY!!!

As long as this country continues to embrace this abomination (and any other) into ther lives,and stand for it,and not fight AGAINST it,not for it…God will NOT be with that country. PERIOD

Such as it was with Cain and Abel. Cain brought the fruits of the ground before the Lord for an offering…God was NOT pleased.

Abel brought the firstlings of his flock as an offering before the Lord…God WAS pleased.

Cain killed Abel because his very own eye was filled with evil,but his brother Abel’s with good…

This seems like most of the people today.

God is NOT for a country that is FOR evil!!!!

The only sacrifices that God wants from us are the sacrefices of the spirit,of holiness, through his son Jesus Christ…

The fruits of this country are NOT fruits of holiness…

God IS spirit,not flesh………………

Isaiah 60:12

For the nation and kingdom that will not serve thee shall perish; yea, those nations shall be utterly wasted

i really like you site but you always come to the wrong conclusions — I remember 50 yrs ago when i would go to the zoo. I would see 100 small monkies in a small glass enclosed closet. the were biting each other scratching each other and trying to have sex with anything that moved. just like amerika today. Now that zoo uses more modern natural surroundings and the animals are normal unlike amerika. CHINA RULES

bobbobbobbob

amerika used to make things like tools chairs can openers shirts pants locks furniture I DARE U TO GO TO BOBS FURNITURE AND FIND ONE PRODUCT MADE INUSA THERE IS NONE??? why the republicaterrorists and thir tax credits for exporting jos and outsourcing.CHINA RULES

http://www.cyclopswarrior.blogspot.com Warrior

We’re #1! We’re #1!

Gary2

It is the biggest embarrassm­ent of our day that Republican­s work so hard to protect the top two percent does and makes sure they enjoy an obscene share of all income growth in the country. It helps to stagnant the country and makes us more like a South American junta than any liberal democracy should be.

What is fascinatin­g is why mom and pop on Main Street keeps voting for the GOP when they see no gains by being Republican­. In fact, Republican­s want to put them in a poorer position relative to the top two percent by dismantlin­g Medicare and cutting college grants and loans.

There was a really good book by Thomas Frank “Whats the matter with Kansas” in which he asks why so many low income whites vote repube when it is so obviously not in their financial interests.

Glad to see so many people responding to your articles and getting involved. Just wish I had more time to read them all.

You ask how could this be happening?

That was a loaded question!!!

I believe it all comes down to integrity. What a person believes, says and does. It affects everything in a person’s life from the smallest little detail to the greatest moment. No exceptions. And every person. No exemptions.

Two things we believe in our family:

1) Pray like you are going THROUGH the fire and not TO the fire.

2) No matter what, always do your best in everything you do. Anything less is a waste of your time.

SMASH THE CONTROL MACHINE

While most states allow food stamps to be used for soda, candy, ice cream and Doritos but not for hot prepared food meant to be eaten at the establishment where it’s sold, a few states allow SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) recipients to use their benefits for fast food. Arizona, parts of California and Michigan already let food stamp users buy ready-made food at fast food restaurants, including Subway, KFC, Jack in the Box, Burger King, Pizza Hut and El Pollo Loco

Fred

There are many reasons why Americans have become what we are today compared to 50 years ago. The husband would work to support the family. The spouse would be the homemaker and raise and provide moral guidance in raising children. The spouse staying at home would develop friendships with the neighbors and so on.

Now both husband and wife works full time, and have longer travel time to and from work. There is more stress in the world. Any spare time that is available is used to run all sorts of errands, clean house, mow the lawn, and attend sport events that the children are involved in or other events like plays, music, and hobbies. Very little time for anything else.

I remember what it was like back in the 1950s, before America started to change. If we could only go back in time like the TV series “Father Knows Best” and “Leave it to Beaver”. Those days are gone forever.

hal

disagree.Chinese families-most all members work-including children.very little delinquncies.Americans have developed a horrific sense of entitlement originating with corrupt government,corrupt unions,corrupt attorneys.It has nothing to do with both parents working. throw in bebased media with mind numbing crap 24hours daily and the commercialization of religion that tailors itself to satisfy the basest tramp and you get the crux of the matter.the ten commandments should be on the wall behind every blooming judge-half of whom are worse criminals than the defendants.Blind eyes to dope and promiscuous kids and single mothers complete the picture. There is no easy way out and we will all take the big fall -and have to start over for the next 50 years.plenty of violence along the way!

el Makhraz

Only when you come down from your imaginary ivory tower, you will then realize the progress and opportunities you’ve missed. Modesty and humility is the key to supreme leadership, not arrogance and bureaucracy. We’re #1? we’re #1? in what? name me one thing! A system that becomes dependent on a high number of external variables… will soon be a child of those variables, and maybe a hungry child!
You really want to become #1? beware of the below:

1-Concentrate on self-sufficiency; that will also create immense job opportunities.
2-You want cheap labor? import cheap labor;
3-Stop interfering with others’problems, and solve your own.
4-Look inside more than outside, your family needs you.
5-Reform, reform, reform, get out of these never ending procedures that became a most complex system that lacks innovation and simplicity.
6-Find alternative sources of energy
7-Create a culture…where is your culture? only in books! and movies!
8-Know your enemy! you’re fishing in the wrong ponds!
9-Top spreading hatred;
10-Maintain a steady policy!

dave

God promised to destroy any country that involves itself with the Israeli problem. God will be the only one to solve it. America placed itself at the top of the list of countries involving itself with the Israeli problem, and God is slapping us around because of it.

“And in that day [last days] will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces” Zechariah 12

Joe

way to go to leave out some key words:

“Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling unto all the people round about, when they shall be in the siege both against Judah and against Jerusalem”

“And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it.”

To all people, those that come to terms with themselves and to abide by the truth and wisdom that God bestows, they will be judged accordingly.

John Sutherland

There are a lot of really good ideas presented here. Many of them are offered in the proposed 28th amendment:

This doc, combining the ideas of many legal minds, adds some teeth to the Constitution and our rule of law. It does need some legal refinement, but the right ideas are presented.

Ed

Yes, a lot of good ideas there, but, as you said, it could use a of refinement, namely,
it is prolix, which is to say a lot more could be said with fewer words.

Good effort though and whoever is doing the work on it is to be complimented.

Yes, I too think we need to bring Congress, the president and federal judges back to home base, i.e., the Constitution as written, which is to say, the Constitution should retain its original meaning and not reinterpreted by successive federal courts.

BigAl

When will we as a people be pushed to far?

Fear us.

tod

sorry, u r to havy (obese) to b pushed so far.

just-two-scents-worth

When you remove God and the importance of religion from the national discourse, this is what you get. Societal decay and eventually chaos.

AV1611

How true your sentiment is. It is a sorrowful day that we are seeing. The only way to save a nation is national repentance. Which is exactly what is going to happen for Israel at God’s appointed time. As for the U.S., I believe our time passed long ago and this nation has been in a steady decline.

David In Australia

deluded….totally deluded

denny

Greed and lust also might have something to do with it. The same ones spouting god are the ones killing children and looting our economy. Period.

TheDude

It’s simple. The US (and the entire world, frankly) is falling to pieces because of overpopulation, greedy corporate interests, and hyper-consumerism.

Regardless of what some here think, it has nothing to do with turning our back on some imaginary, invisible father figure. In fact, that is one of the things that’s really hurting us. Instead of focusing on science, medicine, technology and innovating – things that are actually helpful to society if used correctly – we fight over teaching creationism (pseudoscience) in our schools. A little over 50% of the US population actually thinks some invisible being with a fascination on how we use our genitalia created the world.

The US is crumbling because of our anti-intellectualism, gross materialism, and extreme arrogance.

Jack Handy

Dude, your belief system is arrogant.

Michael

Right on Dude. You hit the nail squarely on the head. Religion is keeping the country down.

GeoffG

Absolutely spot on. I must add “lying” to your list. Lying seems to have become endemic in the USA, from top to bottom. Lying is used to further one’s own cause, usually at the expense of others. It undermines all aspects of life.

Flem

You can sum it up in one word. OVERPOPULATION. Brought to you by human selfishness and stupidity.

signalfire

Yeah, right. Back when America was a Christian nation, and we killed all the native americans, cuz they were heathens with red skin, shot millions of bison so their food supply was wiped out, and then we went to Africa and raided villages for the strongest young people, decimated their culture there and brought them here and enslaved them, and fought a war that killed hundreds of thousands to keep the slavery going, because ‘God Knows’ the only way to keep the plantation going was black labor, and since the Revolution from Britain, we’ve only NOT been at war a few years total… yup, that was back when we were civilized and a Christian nation, yessirree.

DownWithLibs

It was other blacks that rounded up blacks in Africa to sell to the slave trade. America was one of the last countries to have slavery and one of the first (if not the first) to abolish it.

You may want to re-enroll into a local history class since you clearly didn’t pay attention the first time around.

davidinMPls

wrong.. England and Mexico abolished slavery before the US.

Polyphemus

Actually, the USA was one of the last in the Western Hemisphere. Only Cuba and Brazil had slaves longer. England, Mexico, Argentina, Peru, and almost every other country in the New World beat us to doing the right thing. DownWithLibs obviously didn’t pay attention himself…

TomC

The civil war was fought over states’ rights not slavery. The Yanks wanted to end slavery not because they cared about the slaves, but because they were industrialized and wanted to sell machines to the south.

John

Our ancestors didn’t raid African villages for slaves, fictional depictions in “Roots” notwithstanding. Slave traders went to the African ports and bought people who were already captured as slaves — by other blacks.

And I never here a single liberal whining about what happened to the Indians who is willing to go back to Europe and give his property to some Sioux or Mohawk. Apparently they are happy to be the recipients of what they perceive to be stolen property.

Hiram

You paint the slave trade out to be a relief effort by Europeans to extract slavery victims from Africa and lead them to the land of milk and honey. What an amazing wonderland you live in.

This country has been built on bloodshed, trickery and treachery since its conception. Slavery was very real and there were millions of Africans murdered, beaten, raped, emasculated, and tortured by Westerners, and this is recorded. Every slave sale is recorded in detail yet there is no PROOF (just de facto talk) of this so-called African-on-African capture. Stop that! Why were they over there looking for slaves anyway?

Europeans from other nations war and it is never seen as “brothers” fighting, yet Africa is the largest continent, and yet you people look at it like a single country of inbred cousins. This viewpoint is false & this, “we didn’t do it they did it to themselves” rubbish is disgusting. Everyone worldwide knows what happened here in America. Wake up!

olu

The previous poster never said being transferred into slavery in America as opposed to Africa was a relief, and it *has* been documented, most reputable African-American scholar acknowledge it (although they argue that slavery in Africa was much more benign which is probably true).

jim

I spent over half my life in the third world as an engineer. the lower rate of arrests is the result of the difference in enforcement. Often times a suspect is shot and the incident is not recorded. Most countries do not arrest someone for trivial items. Now I work in corrections where I see people arrested for little to no reason, but it keeps the population up. The stats are misleading. also we do not approve of honor killings common in most of the world and not considered murder in the third world. Inter tribal killing also is not included. the six million killed in the congo blatent murder is not counted.
You need to look more closely at the basis of the stats.

Jeff

gen·o·cide [jen-uh-sahyd] –noun

“The deliberate and systematic extermination of a national, racial, political, or cultural group.”

The USA was founded on genocide, the planned and systematic extermination of the native inhabitants.

They were described as “savages” and “godless heathens”, then slaughtered by the millions.

Is this the “Christian Nation” that you are referring to?

enzo

LOL you marxists have all the right answers

First you create a problem, then you exacerbate it, then you offer some false “solution”.

If your fathers didn’t want an arrogant band of degenerates running rough-shod through civilization, they wouldn’t have created the monster of Protestantism. In other words, you and your “altruism” can shove it.

It’s the people that share yOUR intellectual DNA that exterminate, and commit genocide. More people have been exterminated and murdered in the name of Atheism in this century alone, than in all your so called “religious wars” combined.

Get a life, cretin.

http://www.movethedecimal.com Mr. J.R.

“Does anyone have any ideas about why this could be happening?”

The only reason why is because humans are foolish and selfish. The greatest minds on earth got us to where we are now.

Truly, our only hope is in God. There is no person, no political party, no nation that can save the world and it’s troubles.

“God, hear our prayers, and forgive us of our sinful ways.”

…if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.
~ 2 Chronicles 7:14

AV1611

As for the individuals that believe in overpopulation, I regret to inform you that you have been sorely misled. The entire world population, est. 6.93 billion people, if standing in a concentrated area would fit into a tract of land approximately 248.58 sq miles. All us wonderful people could happily squeeze onto Australia with 2,967,751.42 sq miles to spare. That’s just Australia which only accounts for 5.2% of the world’s land mass and we would only take up 0.00008% of that land. Pssssttt I don’t think over population is the problem.

Gary2

we need land to grow food etc.

Jack

First of all half of the categories mentioned can be grouped in the same category. Murder, rape, and car theft all fall under total crime yet they are listed separately. Second of all the US has the highest illegal drug usage in the world because their are drugs that are illegal in this country are completely legal in other countries so it doesn’t take a brain sergen to figure out you can’t compare them. Last but not least we need our military, regardless of what the reason is, we have a lot of enemies, to cut the military now would be a big mistake. Since when is it bad to have military bases in other countries, if war breaks out you’ll be happy we have them. To make a long story short there are many things wrong with the US, but it is the most powerful country in the world and that title alone comes with many enemies and as far as I know this is still the best place in the world and if you think you can find somewhere better then leave.

The Unicorn

Its easier for someone in a pit to pull others into the pit than for someone outside the pit to pull someone out of the pit.Once your in the pit your doomed.To save yourself you have to let go.

erdosain

Michael, i want to say that this is a great site, i find your articles very informative and interesting.
One thing i just can’t quite comprehend is why there are so many religious whackjobs replying with Jesus-related mumbo-jumbo to each and every one of your posts, which in its majority are economic in nature, complete with statistics and data backup?
It just blows my mind.

Maria

erdosain,

Last time I checked, we still had freedom of speech (and the press)in the United States of America which applies to everyone including our “religious whackjobs” and our erdosains.

James Rednour

Maria,

There is no such thing as free speech on a private website.

Gil

Why are many of these things are bad per se?

1. Would criminals love to be in other countries where there’s little jail but plenty of corporal punishment instead? Would honest people like to be in other countries where criminals get a slap on the wrist before being let back into society?

2. So? Westerners get to choose their death as opposed to truly poor people (and everyone’s ancestors) who are (were) skinny, sickly and short-lived because of contaminated food and water.

3. So? People aren’t forced to stay in abusive marriages but can find better spouses?

4. Gee. I’m sure abjectly poor people around the world are feeling good about that. Or our ancestors who didn’t have TVs but they did have to work from a very early age instead.

5. Libertarians would quick to point this is good as people in the U.S. are more concerned about exercising their rights in spite of what the government says.

6. Not to say crime is good but then again the U.S. has far more cars per capita that can be stolen. In other words, there’s no car theft in countries where people are too poor to have cars.

7.8.9. How many people don’t report crimes because there’s no one to report to or nothing much will be done except what force the victims can muster? How many women don’t report rape because she will be punished? Besides the total crimes can never be known only reported crimes hence poor countries have way more unreported crimes.

10. It argued whether this is good or bad. But how many here would consider zero police officers the optimal number? Would most people rather have some sort of police force than no police force? How many people could really afford quality private security or can provide it themselves?

11.12.13. Is this because the U.S. can do more for more diseases? Healthcare costs were cheap as chips over a century because amputations and leeches were pretty much it. Truth is the U.S. is the best place to get cancer treated. How many people in poor countries have to just bear what diseases they contract and tough luck if it’s deadly? Remember the good ol’ days when if you needed a body part amputated all you got was some alcohol to drink and something to bite down on?

14. How many people have a gun to their heads forcing them to take on student debt? Maybe some colleges could be sued for false advertising if graduates aren’t getting fancy jobs with their degrees. Then again would people prefer to be in a country where education isn’t a requirement and most people do manual labouring? Most countries like that tend to be the poorer ones.

Simple….wars bring down countries and empires…always have always will….Britain was bankrupted by WW1 and WW2…Stop getting involved in everyone elses problems…launching exocet missiles at so many Millions of dollars a pop….and get your shit in order before u bring the rest of the world down with you!!

http://html johnny rotten

i piss on woody wilson

David In Australia

er…yeah…thanks for your insightful contribution.

David In Australia

get back to President Woodrow Wilsons Ideals….and not Ronald RayGuns and u might start back on the right path.

enzo

we are living the ideals of Wilson. THIS is the brave new world of the Globalists and the Genocidal exterminators of his ilk.

We are living the banker’s dream world — our collapse is not some “catastrophe”: it is merely part of a plan that your altruistic little leaders have envisioned and enacted.

Why are you such a sap, at your age?

david

When I read the words “the love of most Americans is growing cold” my jaw dropped open. Did you write those words knowing you were quoting Jesus in Matt. 24:12? The whole verse: “And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold.” This was in response to the disciples asking when the end would come. Our lawlessness is documented throughout your article. These are indeed perilous times.

MightyMax

I think being number 1 in defense spending is not so bad.
For all the money that we spend on our Military, at least we can say that it cannot be matched.
SO I would say that is a good ROI.

Compared to something like all the money we spend on Education and we absolutely suck compared to other nations.

So being #1 in military, Our constitution does say the government needs to have military….
So I do not see that as a negative.

To say that “OVER POPULATION” is the problem…???
Really?
We are a nation of just over 300 million people
China over 1 billion, India also over 1 billion.
Take a jet ride over America and see all that open land and space……
OVER POPULATION is not the problem….

kinsey

You do realize that overpopulation is a matter of having too many people for the amount of resources and not the amount of space we have to fit them, right? Our resources, like water and oil, are running out. We will most likely be out of fossil fuel in our lifetime. Just because there’s ample room for people doesn’t mean we aren’t in danger of overpopulation.

Jeff

Erdosain – those people who have to quote scripture whevener confronted with a problem or a challenge, lack the intellectual ability to think critically.

It’s super-easy to lean on religion/god, but much harder to arm yourself with facts and rationale arguments.

While it’s true that we do enjoy free speech here on this blog (thank you), sometimes the discussion degenerates into meaningless religious psychobabble.

http://waitstartlife.blogspot.com Becky

I heard that most porn films are made overseas. More than half the films made in the world are porn.

I really don’t think the country will become dog-eat-dog. It may in some places. But in others, people WILL pull together to make sure things work. Just look at how people responded to the tornadoes in the south. they didn’t become horrible mobs. They helped each other.

Our country’s financial system is broken, our government needs a lot of help, sure, but that doesn’t mean that the population is completely hopeless. Our strength will come through in the coming crisis.

America has become lazy and materialistic. The current generation of 40 has grown up in a world where debt is a way of life and there were no consequences for indebting oneself to obtain immediate gratification. This has resulted in an excess of down time and an erosion of the work ethic and compassion for those in need. That time is over and the piper is back and ready to be paid. America is in for a world of hurt in the near future because the one advantage it had (immense wealth) has proven to be a mirage. We’ll continue to be prominant but no longer dominant.

Barbara

We are the most supposedly Christian nation on earth and these statistics are the result of that.

You forgot we are number one in not believing in evolution, global warming, equality for all.

We are a nation of knuckle dragging, hateful apes.
It seems like all this Christian GOD does is tell his people who to hate.

And Yes, 51% of this Christian nation think torture is OKAY, even though the military is against it because it doesn’t work and it encourages other nations to torture us and in spite of the fact it is illegal, unethical, and immoral.

And yet it is mostly the religious right to life crowd that supports it. No Christianity is not the answer to this nations utter depravity. It is part of the cause.

Gary2

Can you believe the stupid tea baggers who allow themselves to be cannon fodder for the rich? They are the true dolts.

enzo

oh yes, and Labour Unions are NOT big corporations in the pockets of Bankers. LOL You’re such a stunted mind… I would pity you if it were worth the time!

bobbobbobbob

see u in medical school as a cadaver

charlieb

The cause is that our government is evil.

Fred

You know what gets me, no matter where you go on the Internets, if you happen upon a comments section you will invariably find hordes of “I’m not part of the problem” Americans lamenting how stupid and “pig-ignorant” their “sheeple” countrymen are, and why can’t everyone else just get with the program like the brilliant folks they are?

As if they would have you believe they havent voted either D or R their entire lives, paid every dime of taxes demanded KNOWING that it goes to support the welfare-warfare state they so despise, wrapped themselves in the self-aggrandizing cloak of multiculturalism-without-question and climbed over others just to savage people who question the wisdom of such a policy, I could go on and on.

You know this is you. And some of you brag about how you “escaped” this country, but of course not before you took advantage of the still-functioning vestiges of what your horrible Indian-slaying slave-owning Bible-thumping forebears built, to educate and enrich yourselves to make your cowardly flight possible. This is the epitome of hypocrisy.

I still love this country. I think the most caring and altruistic people on earth live here, and their desire to serve and help others has simply been hijacked by nefarious interests who have tricked them into thinking “service” means killing poor people overseas for corporate interests in the name of freedom, and giving fish to men rather than teaching them how to catch them, so to speak. I understand that what ruined it is that the smart people who have a duty to lead either used their abilities to pillage or they threw themselves into idiotic causes like trying to make the Forrest Gumps amongst us into Einsteins or quixotic attempts to right wrongs done hundreds of years ago in the name of “social justice,” whatever the hell that is.

“The end of the world as we know it” will not be kind to folks who think they’ll be safe running off to Uruguay. This disasater will be truly global and history is rife with examples of populations turning on outsiders in hard times. I know I’m much better keeping my family here where roots will come rushing back to the forefront of importance when the fragile veneer of civilization crashes down without Uncle Sugar to hold it all together.

enzo

Bravo!

http://dropoutnation.blogspot.com/ Richard William Posner

Usury

Marc

I agree with YOUR simple assessment, Richard. Most of us believe in a Creator and practice rational ethics and good morals. However, very few of us understand that our ruling elite, for the most part, created America’s present-day social fabric by destroying the efficacy of Constitutional Law in our lives. They’ve beaten the Federal Constitution down and are now claiming that it’s a “tired old document that needs replacing” according to Newt Gingrich–and THAT amazes me!

The Oligarchs have even gone so far as to ESTABLISH the social programs we continuously complain about and have vigorously created the entitlement class that enjoys their benefits.

Our press is a fetid, pathetic propaganda machine that is presently engaged in a NEWS BLACKOUT to underwrite the ruling elite’s speculation as they lay waste to the globe and embroil us all in foreign intrigue and costly wars–all over oil and banking.

Then, they burden us with taxes to the extent that over half our pay goes off to work for them instead of helping us to build a better future, they charge our savings and checking accounts with ridiculous fees, and then force us to pay higher insurance premiums if we don’t “maintain credit.” The Credit companies now want Congress to re-introduce “debtor’s prison”–a concept that died out in the 1700’s. They’ve shifted all of the cost of their tomfoolery onto the labor class and off of capital just so they can watch their money accumulate inside the accounts of off-shore banks while WE have to pay America’s banks for corrupt programs of embezzlement that went awry.

In the end, our Oligarchs will lose because, despite their power and wealth and their penchant for pursuing this “New World Order” which is nothing more than the Corporate Facism Ayn Rand warned us about, they will find themselves with no means of production.

Our problem IS that we are victims of USURY in every imaginable understanding of the word. Our solution is to stand up for ourselves and take back our country.

See you at the poles–and yes I plan on voting for people with courage and not a “line” to sell.

Zuzax

We have taken God out of every facet of American life and so there is no thought of accountablity for peoples actions.

David In Australia

Pray all u want…wont stop the Chinese from Repossessing if u guys dont stop spending more than ur country earns…In Australia we have almost NO Government debt..we used the previous 15 years of boom time a little more productively than just giving tax cuts to the rich and dropping very expensive bombs on people who wear tea-towels for hats.

Daniel

Usa 25% wolrd gdp, china 8% so suck it

Robert

Human beings respond to incentives. In America, negative behavior as been incentivized by the very intellectuals some here claim are lacking in influence. It’s not a right or left thing, it’s a simple function of incentive. We are witnessing the destruction of a nation, based on the reward motives of negative behavior, enjoyed by few, emulated by most to their negative long term benefit, but perceived positive short term benefit.

The natural order has been corrupted by these negative short term rewards. This is inspired and encouraged by the political and intellectual class, and echoed by popular media. Eventually it will reset, for the law of economics is a solid as gravity, and natural order will eventually return whether one wants it or not.

George Collins

The question of why this is happening has already been answered:

The Bell Curve by Charles Murray and Richard Hernstein.

Nothing can be done. The problems will worsen. Idiocracy is the logical conclusion of where we are headed as long as there exists an inverse relationship between IQ and reproductive rates.

jiml

love is the answer!share it!america is kinda like the kid that grew up with no structure in there life.america has ended up like that child.america has this if it feels good do it outlook and you can clearly see where it has gotten us!americans lack self discepline is what has lead to the decay of our morals and values.that is the key to any religion self discepline.its also the key to be successfull at anything.were in our phase of finding our next state of concousness.we started like animals and we have taken ourselves out of that catagory.now we need to perfect this state of concousness were in now.each individual person has to stand up and use self descipline.no more lieing, cheating, stealing,killing,useing drugs to escape reality,and being selfish!stop whining bout what you dont have and worry if someone else has or not.we have found out whats bad so now we can do whats right.stop making excuses for yourself so you can justify your actions.our monitary system is the leading cause to 99 percent of our problems.money is as fake as the people that live by it!the american dreamed has changed! no longer just freedom but freedom with anything that you want included! be made to believe we should all be millionars.im a very rich person and i dont have a dime in my pocket and if i did i would give it to someone who needs it!its supposed to be knowledge is power not money is power.the golden rule is as close to fixing it than anything i guess.

Norm Robinson

to: Signalfire
You’ve got some of the facts straight, but the US was not one of the first to abolish slavery. In fact it was the last of the “advanced” nations to abolish slavery, and it took a horrific war to do it. And in the old confederacy, they still haven’t totally accepted that result.

Norm Robinson

to: DownWithLibs
You’ve got some of the facts straight, but the US was not one of the first to abolish slavery. In fact it was the last of the “advanced” nations to abolish slavery, and it took a horrific war to do it. And in the old confederacy, they still haven’t totally accepted that result.

http://thedreamaker.myefoodsglobal.com/ Jeffrey Waldrop

When Food becomes scarce food is worth more than money. A wise and prudent person stores food before a need becomes evident.When starvation begins it is to late.
Please take the food freedom tour on this Efoods
Global site. Claim your gourmet food samples for postage only. It is wellworth it. Good Luck!

http://ANewSlate.com Ron Cadby

Did everyone notice that all of the not-so-good “1st in the world” things listed are a result of:

Dear brothers and sisters. Embrace Islam and you will get rid of all these problems

Michael

I am going to have to fundamentally disagree with you on that point.

Greg

God described this would happen, but He also told us, as Christians, what to do about it;
2 Chronicles 7:14
New International Version (NIV)

14 if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.

Philip Ponterio

The problem with this country is that we have to stop believing in the lies corporations and the media feed us. We have to be discussing things that are imporant and stop concentrating on things that are unimportant. Americans have to start using the minds God gave us and stop acting like sheep. In my opinion it is so sickening to hear Americans with such passion talk about things such as Jesey Shore,American Idol,Pro SPorts and other things. This stuff is so trivial and makes suckers out of all of us. As we discuss and argue over such things,the performers on these shows get mega rich while the suckers watching and paying for it can barely pay the rent. Wake up America and let’s take our country back.

Orbital

Christianity was hijacked long ago by the elitist who realized they could control the masses with it. Religion is a tool for understanding a higher power and just like any tool it can be misused. Pick up the bible, read it, understand it; dont just cast it and god aside.

Epithamy

We were led to believe that if you get a decent education and work hard you would have a good life in America. We were brain washed into beliving that Capitalism was the best form of Government.

Than comes the computer World which changed everything for mankind.

Our Country went abroad instead of educating the masses within their own borders to fill the positions in Corporate America. Over the past 40 years or so, the educational system in America was not top dog for elementary or highschool level curriculum. The educational system across America was not interested in having activities after school hours that built self-estem. The schools took away 4-H, Latin Clubs, debate clubs, Band Practice, track, basketball, baseball, football because they could not afford these extra activities on their budget. Some schools were dilapidated, they were fility, they were without heat and running water.They were dumbing down the educational system for all students all across America. Kids were not indoctrinated into beliving that education was the most important thing to grab and run with for their future happiness in America. They were left alone and they developed the latch-key system for their youth. They were to busy getting what they wanted out of life at the expense of their children.
In the mean time, In the Asian Countries, education is presented to children at a much younger age than in America. They are taught two languages at the onset of schooling. They are taught that it is honorable to get as much education as possible for their future, so they aspired to that throughout their youthful years with their parents blessings. When they graduated from High School, they were more than ready to attend a college of their choice.

Our culture was to busy creating oct-omoms, dealing with the aids epidemic, criminals taking over the stock market, creating lobbist and hedgefund managers that destorted the reality of the stock market with their huge computer networks, wiping out trillions of dollars from individuals who worked hard throughout their lives AND ALSO INSTITUTIONS THEY WANTED TO SEE FALL BY THE WAY SIDE, so as to steal their companies for pennies on the dollar with dirty money, they earned by collasping the stock market periodically. Criminals working amongest our leaders in Congress, criminals writing legislation that was suppose to represent what the people of this Country wanted for their future.
Corporate Heads who were in collusion with criminal minds, started removing people from their corporations in 2002 who were in their 50’s and forcing them out so they could hire just 40 year olds at a much lower pay, since they did not have to fund their socical security benefits since they were not nearing retirement. People in their 50’s and up were nearing their retirement years and that fact alone meant that Corporate America was to make sure their retirement funds were fully funded before they retired. The individuals were paying in every pay check but corporate America was not paying in every paycheck. HeadHunters across America were instructed not to send 50 years old and up out on interviews since Corporate America would not hire them now.
And why did CORPORATE AMERICA DO THIS? For the fact that these individuals were the greedest individuals to enter our financial system in America. They were willing to take every decent job that was created in America over the last 50 years and take the last 25 years covertly sending them abroad so that they could get the cheapest labor out there for the soul purpose of funding their own personal accounts and their stockholders account for the green buck. They did not care what happened when the jobs were removed from the States. Now, that they systemically accomplished their ends, they have destroyed this once great country with their own greed which still runs supreme today. And now they want to take the present President and blame him for the theft of jobs over the past 25 years from this country. It took one hundred years to develop some of the jobs that were sent abroad, and yet they want to blame him, if he can’t flick his finger and create new jobs of that magnitude within months. GIVE ME A BREAK!!!!!

They will hang onto their profits before they opened their doors and restart hiring people. Their greed is paramount. They will let this Country fall into the abyss before they would change their minds about the destruction that has been perpetrated on the American people.

AND IN THE MEAN TIME OUR CURRENCY IS BECOMING WORTHLESS IN AMERICA. If you don’t use it, you will lose it. Well, Corporate America can blame themselves for our society not using our currency often. THEY ARE STILL WITHOUT JOBS. 7/10/2011 10:55:00 am pdt

TazD

I know that my family is blessed to live in a rural area where neighbors still speak and work together to help take care of each other. I cannot imagine living any other way. We are planning a huge community garden and have talked many times about what we need to do when the SHTF…and that time is rapidly approaching. If you don’t know people you can partner with FIND them…a group of like minded people can do anything…but you will fail miserably if you try to survive alone.

Ric Moving

Freedom to the extreme can have its downsides, unfortunately. Ancient Greece, the founder of Democracy, voted for wars, slavery of others, and unproductive public works temple building.

Extreme Freedom contributes to a lot of people driving gas guzzlers like SUVS and high powered engines resulting in trade deficits starting in 1976 when the US started to import a lot of oil as domestic cheap to produce oil fields begun to be depleted. For a while, the US passed laws to require high gas car milage laws, but in the name of Freedom, the Republicans trashed high car milage laws setting the stage of the gas guzzling SUV age of oil importing, and high trade deficits. The Republican push for Global Capitalism in the name of Free Markets, that further increased trade deficits.

Extreme Freedom encourage people to try new things including drugs.
Extreme Freedom allowed Hollywood to produce movies showing stars using drugs. These encouraged people to experiment with drugs that leads to widespread use of drugs.

Extreme Freedom let many people to get away with petty crimes, and porn without much governmental control nor risks, which often lead many to continue to commit larger crimes of drugs selling, car theft, rapes, murders, and all sorts of white collar rip-offs and white collar crimes on Wall Street and the stock market. Freedom to own a lot of guns sometimes enable the robbers, the drug addicts, and the berserk to easily access guns, which windup being used to perpetrate murders.

Extreme Freedom let politicians to lie like hell to get elected, and to run wild in building up the national debt to fund pork, and to fund tax cuts for the rich.

Extreme Freedom let large drug manufacturers to sell all kinds of expensive pills to the populace for profit, even when, it is unwise and questionable for people to take so many drugs. Extreme Freedom to sue the doctors forces doctors to prescribe drugs in self defense from being sued, even when the drugs are not really needed.

Extreme Freedom won by working women from financial hardship enable women to divorce easily from unhappy marriages. Freedom from religious limitations make divorce easier in some groups.

Extreme Freedom for massive fast food chains, and massive food companies to sell greasy foods, encourage people to eat unhealthy foods, after they watch unending television advertisements pushing these greasy foods. With the economy dropping, people may be forced to eat less, which may lessen the number of overweight people, although to really poor may suffer from malnutrition with food prices soaring.

Without self control, too much freedom can become self destructive, unfortunately, as shown by the ancient Athens. Freedom can be specially damaging, when it enables the greedy to operate uncontrolled to rip-off anybody and anything. It only takes a few uncontrolled greedy people to destroy an economy and a society, which took decades to centuries to build. Just like an uncontrolled single kid can burn down a large building, which took years to build, with a single match in a few minutes.

Once the US had almost unlimited amount of virgin natural resources to recover from destructions caused by uncontrolled freedom by the greedy. When the 1929 era stock market suffered uncontrolled fraud and crashed, the US still had its cheap oil fields. Today, the domestic cheap oil fields are depleted, the domestic copper mines are depleted, the domestic large gold mines are depleted. While fertile land is still plentiful, which is a very good thing, the US can no longer depend on the traditional resources of cheap oil fields and mines to fully support the economy. That is the reality, and new directions are needed. Pickens plan would convert car and trucks to natural gas. GM sells the Chevy Volt. These would eliminate oil importing. Bank regulations would control financial disasters from easily being made by the greedy. The road ahead will not be easy, as the greedy wants to maintain their freedom to pillage. Money is an all powerful force driving the greedy, and the greedy wants to maintain their freedom to make money the easy way by ripping-off the people, no matter what the destructions they may cause.

julieannayoga

All of the above and more. Reasons for the downfall of America….which has been spreading its message of MONEY FIRST all over the World, now.

But no one has mentioned how Pres. Bill Clinton had us in the black / out of debt, not in the red…even if he DID commit “crimes against refinery” in the Oval Office!

And no one has mentioned the criminals, George W. Bush and his cohort, Cheney, for lying through their teeth about going to Iraq and killing people in a war without basis, without reasonable reason (albeit is war EVER “reasonable”? – of course not!) And how babybush spent and spent and put us in debt and gave perks to the wealthy and Wall Street and mortgage lenders became more and more corrupt, as babybush didn’t care about regulation (let ’em run wild!) tee hee hee busyh-style smirk!!

No one has mentioned the corruption of Congress being intimidated by anthrax and other such manipulations so they’d vote for invading Iraq so that America could erect a mammoth, vulgur embassy which tries to say, arrogantly but laughably now: “We, America, are in charge of the MiddleEast/[and oil]!” Well, it looks like ThePeople of the MiddleEast are starting to be in charge.

If the CIA is so smart, why don’t they capture Ghadafi and lock him up?! Military might goes on and on and on, like the Energizer Bunny, without a goal, without remorse, and without qualms, killing civilians along the way.

America is a warmonger. Corporations are warmongers on ThePeople. The US mainstream Media is a warmonger on ThePeople. AIPAC is a warmonger on Congress, the American People, and the Palestinians, and against the United Nations resolutions and against International Law.

bushCheney needed to be IMPEACHED. But who stopped it? Rep. Conyers…as he was quoted as saying, “We don’t want to do anything to prevent the first African-American from being President…” Well, that African-American, I think, would have gotten even more votes, had impeachment been justly implemented and if he himself had come out for same. Pres. Obama is a Constitutional lawyer – yet he does not come out for indictment of BushCheney! Just wants to put all that killing, mayhem, and murdering of innocents in Iraq and of our service men and women -under the rug, like it never happened?!

I’m finished voting. There is no one who really goes for the truth anymore. No one to trust. No one to care about WeThePeople; only care for corporations and bigspending for campaigns (thank the low-down supreme court for that!).

The good people don’t want to run for office oftentimes because of the gradually developed and cynically accepted mud-slinging and meanness that candidates now put on one another. No civility; no manners; no respect; no going for the issues. Instead, hitting below the belt, bringing up petty stuff that the dumbed-down population (caused by horrible, non-critical thinking education) enjoy – all the mud-slinging (which is like the violence on teevee—and in the society—what do you expect?!)

The healthcare system is a joke! The pharmeceutical companies want you to get sick so they make more M O N E Y — wow, money talks, the root of all evil when it is the “raison etre”!!
People would stay healthier longer with PREVENTION measures – which hardly any health insurance covers!! (there’s lobbying, you know!!)

In Germany, you get about nine (9) massages free every 2-3 months with your insurance that you pay peanuts for and your taxes where you contribute like everyone else. Socialized medicine isn’t the freebie the critics call it: people pay taxes into it. It is community-oriented. It cares about humanity. It has no more problems than the American “all for me alone” system has…. all for me and likely not for millions of others who can’t afford healthcare or who go bankrupt because of some expensive treatements, et al.!

ISRAEL: well, America taking sides on that question has really gotten this country in trouble. It was one of the causes of 9/11, so, if the American Gov’t fessed up to that fact, they wouldn’t be so quick to “retaliate” – an excuse to get into the MIddleEast more deeply. And make a bunch of money for certain wealthy ones behind the scenes…

I agree with all of the above comments overall. Except I don’t think Islam is necessarily the answer. Spiritual qualities and integrity – is the overall answer, no matter what religion or no-religion. That will take centuries of more suffering to get to that point! A sense of “I-Thou” (Buber) is another related answer.

In a country that touts “SELF” Magazine and tons of me-me-me publications, the real love/”I-Thou” is lost in the maze!

In a country that has little regret about the genocide of the Native Indians; in a country that took too long to abolish slavery; in a country that has killed tons of innocents in wars created by her or manipulatively fanned by her around the World; in a country that has liars and lobbyists at the top; in a country that doesn’t know right from wrong when it comes to its SELF/me-me-me expediency and money and oil and influence…in a country that has developed worker-bees for supporting a humongous military that does no good…

In a country that allows, yes, ExtremeFreedom instead of regulated and I-Thou freedom…in a country that is flakey and thoughtless overall…with sparks of love and kindness here and there… In a country that has liars for presidents… In a country that has pretty mean drug dealers, prostitutes and druggies, instead of a few innocent ones needing money… in a country whose politicians almost consistently “step out” on wives, even searching out prostitutes and the like… In a country whose bottom line is money instead of Quality of Life…

Man, what do you expect?!

And money lurks amongst the corrupted grasses of greed and languishing arrogance – while the majority of the World pines in poverty with children who just might be happier at times than our spoiled “rich kids”.

Dave

Clinton’s administration was the one who allowed banks to give out absurd mortgages to people who had no business buying homes. Everyone blames bush and don’t get me wrong I don’t like him either but Clinton laid the groundwork for the economic crisis we face today. Do some research. Both parties are evil and use the constitution as toilet paper.

Norman Earhart

We are concerned about our rights when we should be concerned about our responsibilities. We are self centered not Christ centered meaning to be others centered.

northway2

Even a quick look at history shows us that human societies do well only when we work together for the common good, and when we care about other people. This is how “primitive” societies worked. It is also the wisdom at the core of all world religions.
Our society has turned this wisdom on its head. We worship money, profit, material goods, and personal pleasure. We care only about ourselves. The unhappy symptoms described in this article are the inevitable outcome of these goals and values.
I refer anyone interested in this subject to the writings of anthropologist Colin Turnbull. His wonderfully written books “The Mountain People” and “The Forest People” paint pictures of two societies, one which worked, and another which collapsed.
Our society, like that described in “The Mountain People”, is pathological, and crumbling.
We can turn our boat around before it hits the rocks, but it will take painful soul-searching, and a sustained effort to re-order our lives.
Absent that sort of determination and courage, we will self-destruct.

http://www.pastmoderne.ch Bruno v. Nünlist

At the end of you article the following is questioned: “Does anyone have any ideas about why this could be happening?” I’ll tell you in the words of Thomas Jefferson: “I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies. If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their currency, first by inflation, then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around [the banks] will deprive the people of all property until their children wake-up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered. The issuing power should be taken from the banks and restored to the people, to whom it properly belongs.”

Graysontheking

Some of these things on our list are not necessarily bad per say or as bad as you make them seem. First of all reported murders, crimes, etc does not mean it is more than other nations, those nations are simply so horrendous that they do not report such things. Second the idea that our foreign bases is wrong is ridiculous, as a rule the USA has most of its military bases stationed in places like Germany, one of the wealthiest nations on earth and a close ally, yet we have more bases their than anywhere except the USA. Furthermore our military spending is yet another sign of what I refer to as defense welfare, the fact that European nations are able to provide for a weaker and weaker defense and yet remain sovereign nations. Why? The USA protects them, it is because of us that other nations are able to institute smaller and smaller defense programs and larger and larger social programs which of course provide for low healthcare costs. In fact the US recently began to move bases from Germany to Poland, Germany complained, Poland rejoiced. We are not as corrupt as you would believe, furthermore our debt although ridiculously large is not as bad as you say, because it should be viewed through the lens of percentage of GDP. Our debt as a percentage of GDP is much lower than nations like Japan and France. It is projected to grow astronomically however. This is the largest problem facing us, that and as you say cultural decay.

http://www.facebook.com/michael.morning.7 Michael Morning

The military issue is ludicrous. We spend, all totaled, somewhere north of $1 trillion per year on the war machine. We have created an empire of 750+ foreign military bases in over 130 countries, and it’s driving us into the poorhouse. Meanwhile, American citizens go bankrupt due to medical bills. We have a sick, warmongering society. There is no reason for the military spending. It’s time to cut the military by several hundred billion, stop the foreign aid, tax the corporations with their manufacturing overseas, and turn our attention toward rebuilding America.

ExpatZ

Wow, you are seriously ignorant about the rest of the planet aren’t you?

The violent crime rate decreased 6.1% from 2008 to 2009. From 2000 to 2009 the rate fell 15.2%.
The property crime rate decreased 5.5% from 2008 to 2009. From 2000 to 2009, the rate fell 16.1%.

http://drg-freeassociation.blogspot.com/ son of liberty

Homicide and violent crime rates in the US are nowhere near #1 on a per capita basis, and highly doubtful on total number basis, although I haven’t yet located that statistic

John

If everyone will remember the Department of Justice craze for sueing police departments years ago you can understand why these numbers are being skewed. To get Federal money the cities must show improvements in crime rates! A rape is no longer a rape, it is Gross Sexual Imposition. A robbery can be turned inro a theft with impied use of force. These are games that are being played with words to lull the people into a false sense that eveything is a-okay! I am an officer in the 16 th. largest city and have seen no decrease in crime where I work!! By all means take the FBI crime stats as fact and go back to sleep!

I still say you can’t get a concensus with a philosophy like Libertarianism. I have a theory that all “isms” are merely Christian heresies, because since the great falling away prophecied by the Apostle Paul in II Thessalonians 2:3, having taken place from about 1890 to the present, we have lost Christian conscensus.
“Let no man deceive you by any means: for that Day [the Great Tribulation, 7 yrs of wrath] shall not come except there come a falling away first..”
So you’ve got all kinds of heresies happening in the 20th c., Communism/Socialism/Naziiism, most of which were horrific and they were were each formulated based upon some aspect of the faith. And you even had to name freedom and call it Capitalism. But it became something less than that. The big banks arose in the 1800s. Everything is falling short of the mark, in a kind of reductionism. The church itself is in the age of Laodicea.

There are more lawyers in the USA than the rest of the world combined?

jeff198524

Most Americans are morons, barbarians, and savages. The US has brought nothing but suffering to the world for decades and is now being paid back. Asia rises while the West falls.

I personally say “screw America”. I have mine, the rest of you be damned. Isn’t that the American way?

wymck

“Asia rises?” Which Asia is that? Japan, which has been in a 20-year slump, or perhaps you mean China, where economists’ slipshod measure of GDP is based on such never-fail methodology as national electric consumption? Face it, China’s economic “miracle” is based on manufacturing cheap goods for quick export, and if they were as rich as, say, Mexicans, then those “ghost cities” would be full of people. This current sitch is one example of (economic) flu that makes Americans sneeze and will knock down China’s house.

Mary

When the US took God out of the country (school, courts, etc) He obliged! Thus – the results!

Jesus

Please Mary.

gold bug

Well read your bible it says it all right there. In the end times men will be lovers of themselves.

Ehab

I agree with you 100%

David

Yanks….your screwed….start learning Chinese before your new masters reposses what is now theirs.

Daniel

The US represents almost 25% of the worlds Gdp and China only represents 8%, besides China’s numbers are not exact (they could even be faked). Most chinese people are very poor and have to live like people in Bolivia or Haiti. When people say that Americans can’t go on a fair fight against chinese farmers, they might be right, because Americans have to pay for their childrens college, their beautiful homes, their computer, phones, tablets, cars…. While chinese people only have to worry about not dying of starvation.

http://www.facebook.com/fhuh.kew Fhuh Kew

Only a moron would compare Bolivia to Haiti. Detroit to Haiti might be accurate.

tim

The interesting thing is that Francis Schaeffer predicted all of this back in the 1970s. He said that society would increasingly collapse until things became so disordered that Americans would eagerly give away their freedom in exchange for a strong man who promised to keep them safe. When i read that 30+ years ago i thought it was quite a reach. Now, Americans want the TSA goons to reach inside their underwear and take videos of their private parts if only they will pretend they can protect us from terrorists.

I think the book was called something like “Whatever Happened to the Human Race,” or something like that… If anybody out there knows, i would love to read it again!

Steve

#21 – the USA grows and consumes more GMO’s in their food than any other nation, despite long-term studies revealing transgenics to be responsible for major organ damage, low fetal weight and increases in several cancers.

#22 – the USA has more vaccines given by age 1 than any other country yet has the most unhealthy children.

wymck

… uh… because the other countries’ unhealthy children die off before they are 1 year old… we value children in this country and don’t pull the plug on them… c’mon, folks… logic, logic, logic!

Shawn Puff

I don’t even know how you can make such an absurd conclusion.

Kip Hartwell

#69 America is #1 in believing fake reports on GMO food. I hope you look into the blind eye of a starving child as you are sipping your GMO free whole foods organic pumpkin bisque. Because of you the Golden Rice that could have saved them was destroyed.

Tyler

Cause all the other countries that banned those GMO’s are all stupid Kip, huh?

Kip Hartwell

Are you following me? At least try to come up with some new material.

So, other countries ban gay marriage. Is that good? Some ban being Christian. That has got to be good! Free speech is banned in many places, you are for that right? Oh! Guns! You know almost no other country than USA has as easy time getting guns, in many it is totally banned. You want that in USA now too right?

Look, before you type in something in response, do a quick Google. If your point has already been debunked, you may want to pick another one.

Tyler

Your logic is HORRIBLE. Show me all the studies that show how gay marriage is bad for society. Do the same for all the rest of your points. You are comparing cultural and civil laws to that of health based on scientific studies. The US is ranked as the fattest and one of the least healthy countries out of most 1st world nations in the entire world! We obviously do not have this health thing down. So when I say other countries ban GMO’s because they can read a study and test the results for themselves, there is a fact based argument. Give me a comparison that actually relates to the topic and learn some logic while you’re at it.

Kip Hartwell

I forgot, conspiracy loons have their own Google. You put in the answers you want
Every single thing you just said is wrong, and a quick Google can show why:
The governments put in bans due to political and public pressure, not science. This is exactly opposite of what you claim and just why I made the comparison I did. Once they started reading the science and their science advisers showed them the facts, many of them started lifting the bans. So by your logic, that means GMOs are good now, right?

Second, you make a fact claim about GMO harm. Prove it. Show a study in peer review that shows harm from a marketed product. You can’t, as the science is clear. Now, I can show news articles that show organic produce causing real harm. 100’s die in e.coli contamination among others.

Real vs imaginary harm, you worry about imaginary. And you say my logic is faulty? Wow.

Tyler

So America is the home of the free and land of the people but other countries in the world get more stuff done based on public opinion and pressure but not us? And do you want peer reviewed studies done by Monsanto’s money for your articles or studies done from people all over the world who probably don’t have big company money controlling what they do. I take the good studies with the bad, it seems like you only believe what you want to believe. Yes, many studies have been done to show GMO’s as being safe. But can we trust them all? How many of them were long term? We need more information before we shove food we’re not sure about down our throats and we all develop reactions decades down the line. They might line up with cancer rate increases over the past decades as well as allergies and child development problems that were unheard of in the past. These are not definitive facts yet but should be taken into account. Do you also realize it has been against the law or near impossible in the past for independent tests to be done on GMO’s in the US? What I don’t understand is if why GMO’s are so great then why all the backlash against labeling and doing more studies? There shouldn’t be unless the companies are actually hiding something. Only time will tell if this technology is the start of something great or America’s population control.

And your point about organic produce. You do realize that is what humans have survived off of for millions of years right? And now you think it is more beneficial to sprinkle your salads with known carcinogens? Come on man look at the big picture. I hope you are in somewhat good health or you are just lying to yourself in the mirror. (I’m waiting for the, Well I’m actually a retired fitness model and competitor response) Classic.

Kip Hartwell

I am a fat, bald middle aged guy eating a cookie. And every thing you just said is demonstrably wrong.

But, in all your fake Monsanto bought the science fallacy arguments you say there are studies against GMO? Other than the 3 big fake and debunked ones, have there been any real studies that show harm?

I do know of a few. There is one that shows an allergen developed in a potato strain. If was found in the Monsanto test looking for allergens. And so it was not sold. That is what testing is for. They do it and mean it.

Arctic apples have been tested for years and will have over 10 years of testing done before people can buy them. There is nothing about them that arouses any fear that they could cause harm. Not one penny from Monsanto, all tests run by independent labs. Fully transparent program.

I will eat them. Kip I am.

Tyler

You will eat them and probably continue to be fat and bald Kip. You don’t have to be though.

So you did say that GMO’s have been proven to have some negatives at least side effects and allergens for sure. Do you know that allergen rates of people and children have been going up? Possible correlation? If not then what?

You also said that these apples are being tested for ten years. What about the corn and soy, were those tested for ten years? No they weren’t.

It basically boils down to this and it’s a no brainer even a child could understand.

If GMO’s are so good for people and the world then why not willingly label them? So there might be skeptics at first and eventually people will realize they are harmless, right? So what’s the big deal?

They are obviously hiding something and there is a reason they are spending millions and millions on advertising to protect their secrets. Transparency? Come on, they won’t even admit what they are on labels.

But don’t worry just eat it and be fat and happy. It’s easier that way anyways.

Shawn Puff

Hahahaha we are far from the home of the free anymore. I think that’s the point of this article. We aren’t as great as we used to be and aside from defense spending we’re not number one in any major category anymore. But we are number one in these embarrassing categories.

Tyler

Which is why I asked him that question to make the point. For the most part I agree with you and hope our country can be great in the future.

Anthony W.

Wish i had false facts too.

Anthony W.

#14 Americans have more student loan debt than anyone else in the world.

this is a good thing it shows we have people going beyond high school

d4m4s74

So do people in sweden, norway, germany, the netherlands and the rest of the civilized world, but in most of those countries the costs of education isn’t that incredibly high because (parts of) it is subsidized by the government.

Jason

AMERICA IS REALLY #1: IN ALLOWING IMMIGRATION.

Thanks for the great list. But you forgot the America’s greatest shame: the number of aliens it lets in per year: over 6 million, more than the rest of the world combined. This country is the toilet bowl of the world and lets in all more con-men, criminals, terrorists, barbarians and thugs from all over the third world.

It was our own govt. that gave visas to the 9/11 hijackers. It was our government that has allowed millions of fanatics to pour in and set up terror networks. Greedy corporations import cheap foreigners on bogus work visas by lying on H1/Labor Cert. applications while Americans stand in the unemployment line. Even third world politicians have better morals–they do not let foreigners pour in like our most crooked politicians do. Thanks to this third world war aided and abetted by crooked politicians, the US is now the third most populous nation on earth, issuing 6 million visas per year and allowing 1 millions to enter illegally.

As foreigners pour in, there is more congestion and urban sprawl, shortages of land, water and food, more pollution, more cultural clashes and more crime. Jobs are becoming scarce and wages are falling due to a larger labor pool while home and other prices keep rising due to many more consumers. Oil reserves are becoming depleted and gas and heating oil prices are going through the roof. America is becoming a third-world country, where people will have to stand in line for hours for water and many will urinate and defecate on the roads and in stairwells due to lack of toilet facilities. Starvation and hunger, diseases and depravation will run rampant. Immigrants are bringing plague, AIDS, West Nile, SARS/Swine Flu, dengue fever and TB which kill thousands every year. Violence and corruption are spreading like wild fire.

Hospitals are overflowing with aliens who have not seen a doctor in ages but who come here with many diseases and demand, and get, free treatment at the taxpayer’s expense, thanks to crooked clauses in laws like EMTALA which force hospitals to provide free care to aliens. This is bankrupting some hospitals and even Medicare and Medicaid, while millions of Americans remain uninsured, and unable to afford basic healthcare. Foreigners are getting jobs under affirmative action and then stealing secrets for their foreign govts. Uncle S(c)am has become a brown-nose of the world, but a mother-beater at home.

Our evil government and the corrupt media are in the pockets of the greedy corporations that want cheap drudge and are basically “trafficking in humans”. Foreign lobbyists financed sometimes by foreign drug cartels and crime gangs pay-off our govt. kickbacks disguised as campaign contributions to buy them off to pass laws for easy immigration, to allow more foreigers to pour in here so the foreign countries can get rid of their problems and dump them on us. Our politicians are so greedy, evil and corrupt they will sell their own mother, so they have no qualms about selling their own motherland. 3 Million people invade this country every year–more than the REST of the world combined. This massive immigration is turning our nation into a third world country like Mozambique.

We can stop this cancer of immigration. It is time to join groups such as Numbers USA (http://www.numbersusa.com), or FAIR (http://www.fairus.org), the Minutemen, etc. and take a stand against the greatest evil ever heaped on our nation. It is also time to amend the constitution to allow national referenda, so the people can pass good laws themselves, since our corrupt evil government won’t. For eg.

The most important law to pass is to ban immigration, and the easy visas that let the world’s garbage in. This country need not be a toilet bowl of the world anymore.

carroll price

According to Plato, a Democracy is one of the worst forms of government, and one that always leads to a dictatorship.

Graysontheking

@carrol price, Plato is correct, that is why the founding fathers took pains to create a republic with a separation of powers, NOT a democracy. However we move more and more towards democratic government and have weakened the states powers over the people to the point where the federal government does almost anything it wants. This is simply wrong.

Ryan

Actually, higher education is cheap in other countries. So, your comment may not be worth much.

Concrete man

The United States of Israel!

http://www.theeconmiccollapseblog.com francesco

what do you gyes think about mitt Romney do you think he will run for presninte

Daniel

Military power is great and if we need to buy more in order to conserve the American way of life then so be it. America may have it’s problem but who does not! America is the best and will stay that way. It represents 25% of the world’s income. Second in line is China (although it’s numbers could be faked) with only 8%, so yeah America rules. Who beat the Nazis, the communists, the Spanish, the Koreans and the Brithish. America fights for freedom and liberty all over the globe. I am proud to be an American an you should all be! Every one who critises America is just jealous! The only real problem that America has is that we care too much. America is not perfect but if Americans walk together we can beat any one and any thing. God bless America!

Neil Patel

Not jealous. Telling the truth. And it has not right to simply go into any country and wage war for “justice.”
You are arrogant-think about what you are saying.

Will

Sad to see all the little lemmings defending their homeland here. America has changed, and is sadly no longer good or great.

Kelby

Sacha Baron Cohen’s “The Dictator” said it best:

“Ahh, Amerika – the birth place of AIDS!” x)

joe

you need to look up a study from harvard ,,called, silent weapons for a quiet war,,,and also look up,agenda 21 ,,some places to start anyway,,,have a great day,,

Jason Ross

To all the socialists who think that America is a crappy place that should try to make itself more like other socialist paradises, consider that a lot of this is misleading. A point by point commentary:

1. This is disturbing, but the primary reason the prison population is so high is because we have so many damn laws (thanks, big government!) that we can’t even keep up with them and because we have a semi-functioning police force and judiciary that actually does their jobs (most of the time.) Also, we don’t just shoot or hang everybody who is suspected of a crime and our penal system is so remarkably lax on violent offenders that it is comical.

2. This is mostly because we have been told for decades by supposedly knowledgeable government agencies like the FDA (thanks big government!) that whole milk, white bread, and read meat are acceptable in large quantities and because neither parents nor schools for the most part are teaching basic nutrition and holding themselves or their kids accountable for their own health. It’s also because of the enormous power of Big Farma and the push to indoctrinate people into thinking that high-fructose corn syrup, meat glue, and chicken pumped full of enough steroids to turn an 8-year old girl into the Incredible Hulk are healthy things to eat. Thanks big government!

3. This is disturbing, and it has a lot to do with the fact that we concern ourselves far more with television and other forms of entertainment than with actually promoting healthy emotional development in children and young adults. It is also because of the ridiculous immaturity with which we deal with sex and because a lot of conservative religious communities pressure young adults to marry for all the wrong reasons.

4. This is certainly not a good thing. Sure, we all watch too much TV. Living has become far too easy in this country and much of our society has lost touch with what it really means to work hard for something and to have ambition, drive, purpose, something worth putting your time and effort into rather than just watching TV or playing video games.

5. This is entirely because we have oppressive, archaic drug laws the enforcement of which is doing a lot more harm than good in most cases. Thank you, big government!

6. There are probably more car thefts because we probably have a lot more cars. Nicer ones, too. Plus, the police force is way too busy fighting the drug war to car about a stolen car. I had one stolen in Dallas and I had the fingerprints of the perp, a place where he took the car, and also a forged check that he used to steal money from me. The police did nothing.

7. This is partly because the U.S. has the third largest population in the world. It is also partly because people are actually reporting them because we believe that rape is a crime in this country, unlike a lot of other countries (including the #1 and #2 most populous countries, India and China,) where women are barely even considered more than property in many cases. Still, it is a horrible statistic and I wish I knew what the easy answer was.

8. Again, this is very disturbing, but it also has to do with how large our population is and very much to do with the horribly destructive war on drugs (thanks big government!)

9. Again, population size, combined with the fact that in addition to the laws of each of the 50 states, the federal penal code is over 200,000 pages long. I can’t imagine how anyone is supposed to know what they are allowed to do or not to do– you would die of old age before you could read the thing, and it changes practically every day. Thanks big government!

10.This statistic is in fact a positive thing because it reflects the fact that we care about enforcing the hundreds of thousands of laws that we have to enforce.

11. Again, this statistic is misleading. We spend more on health care because we have better quality services available (staffed by highly skilled practitioners who have a right to charge a fair price for their labor) and we are relatively rich enough as a nation that we can afford to pay for expensive health care regimens instead of just dying. We have one of the longest average life spans in the world and I am willing to bet that the quality of life of the average senior in the U.S. is far higher than it is in almost any other country because they have had access to reasonably good or even excellent health care for most of their lives and have been able to pay for it. Of course there are exceptions, but there are exceptions to everything except death and taxes (thanks big government!)

12. This is also misleading because again, it reflects the fact that we as a people are largely able to afford the drugs we need to fight disease and because they are available to us. Thant being said, I definitely think people are over-medicated in this country and that we need to start investing a lot more into preventative care rather than reactive care (i.e. Rx.)

13. This is also misleading; it reflects the fact that women are free to choose the medicines they need (unless, god forbid, they don’t want to have a baby) and that they have the means to acquire them. It also suggests that women in this country are more educated about the value of mental healthcare and that society is fairly accepting of the treatment of mental illness as opposed to stigmatizing those who seek help or worse, punishing them.

14. This is also misleading because it reflects the fact that we have a large populous of people who are seeking higher education and that we have systems in place that allow them to obtain financial assistance as they do so. However , I do think that debt in general is bad and that being able to work and support yourself through school without taking on debt is a much better practice. Then again, most public schools don’t really provide children with any real financial skills, so as young adults, it’s no surprise that they can’t figure out how to make it work without borrowing. Thanks big government!

15. This is also misleading. Pornography in and of itself is not illegal for adults, nor can anyone prove that it is necessarily harmful or destructive in any general sense. The fact that we have so much of it reflects the fact that we have the freedom to produce it without the decency police coming around and throwing people in jail (in most cases,) although there are still a ton of laws concerning what one can and cannot do or say or reveal, such that we have to deal with ridiculous entities like the FCC and the hoop-la they create over silly little things like Janet Jackson’s nipple. Thanks big government! It also reflects the fact that we have a lot of sexual freedom in this country. However, I do still think that our attitudes about sex are extremely immature and that we are sexually repressed as a country, and that is a big driver behind why people turn to pornography. More sexually liberal societies are likely to turn to it less, or they might simply label it “art.”

17. This is misleading as well. We do spend a ton on the military– a lot of which we could avoid spending if we were worrying more about protecting our own people and property rather than galavanting across the globe on poorly planned and politically motivated escapades (thanks big government!) However, having the most powerful military in the world is and will continue to be the best defense we have against the bad guys– yes, there are actually bad guys out there, not just Dick Cheney and his insatiable lust for oil and occasional need to shoot someone in the face. My brother is in Afghanistan and he gets to see every day just how wonderful the Taliban are and I am glad we spend every damn penny that we do on training, equipping, and supporting him and his comrades. They are braver men and women than I, that is for sure.

18. We do have too many foreign military bases these days, and that makes us look like a imperialist power (thanks big government!) However, the reason we have most of them is because we have been the de facto world police for the past 100 years and have been solving problems that all the wonderfully idyllic nations of the rest of the world have not been able to solve on their own. The reason we don’t all speak German, or Russian, or Japanese, or Arabic (if they even bothered to try and teach it to you since killing infidels is really the first order of business) is mostly because of the U.S. military. They need bases from which to operate. We either stop policing the world or the blow the rest of it up. Otherwise, we need bases.

19. This I completely agree with and it is utterly ruining this country (thanks big government!) The IRS should be abolished IMMEDIATELY and replaced with something no more complex than the average 18-year old and his/her extremely poor knowledge of complex money matters (thanks big government) can understand.

20. This I also completely agree with and it is utterly ruing this country. Guess who is responsible? That’s right! I don’t contribute to the national debt, I PAY the national debt, and so do the other 49% or whatever of Americans who actually still pay taxes. It takes money to afford the enforcement of all those laws that we have, and to fund all those great entitlement programs that serve primarily to fund an enormous bureaucracy and only marginally to actually help people who need help and are beyond the means of helping themselves. THANKS, BIG GOVERNMENT!!!

http://www.facebook.com/connie.schuster.7 Connie Schuster

One statistic was left out: the U.S. has 5% of the world’s population, and 60% of the people on PSYCHIATRIC drugs.

cheese809

that cant be proved because how many people are doing drugs that the government doesnt know about…. 75-90% of kids at my school that is supposely a “good school” does drugs…. 10-20% of those kids come to school high af

tom bradley

liberals are taking over

http://www.facebook.com/TheREALEasterBunnuh David Lee Watkins

any time someone points out americas flaws its “liberals taking over”. or “its the conservatives fault”

no its your stupid 2 party system taking it up the butt from goldman sachs thats ruined this nation -.-” stop worshiping your left/right propaganda and TAKE YOUR COUNTRY BACK!!!

101george

i don’t comprehend why these Americans are such big discriminators! Why do you have so much of contempt or some other religions!! Why do you feel that your country is the most liberalized country in the entire world!!! I’ve heard a lot of Americans blaming other countries and their people for a lot of thing..taking away their jobs, a stuff like that..why don’t you stop thinking for a while that you are ultimate..stop hating people and work for your own good…not to let others down!

Shane

Well has anyone considered why china is growing in economy, it isn’t like Americans who aren’t forced to work like slaves,”the jungle”, if you don’t know what I am talking about read that book, the chineas live like that and americans who make money outsource to china then americans buy from there, the us goverment is in trouble but not american company’s, there are now us space company’s, if the goverment collapses the company’s will just move and make a goverment dependent like china on those company’s so then they have to lower the currency ow westiners buy from that company making that country just enough to live.

Cait Dickson

This is absolutely ridiculous and misleading. Some of these statistics are valid, for example the first one about incarceration. However, A LOT of them aren’t looking at PER CAPITA statistics. A direct comparison of countries without adjusting for differences in population is useless. For instance, in 2010 American reported 84767 rapes. Sweden reported
5960. Sounds like Americans are a bunch of rapists, right? Well because Sweden only has 9 million people, that means there were around 63 rapes per 100,000 people in Sweden, and 27 in America.

There are other things here that are potentially valid, However, because the author of this knowingly used misleading statistics that would bolster their argument, I can’t take any of it seriously. (And no one else should either, unless you’re willing to do the research to confirm it)

Its obvious the author here is just preying on people’s stupidity to sell whatever ill-researched misleading alarmist garbage will appeal to the masses. I don’t know who I hate more, the people (newscasters, authors, anyone profiting on sensationalism) that propagate this kind of misinformation, or the people that are dumb enough to take it as fact without being able to evaluate the source.

wymck

America is the greatest nation in the world by default (pun intended.) Every nation on Earth that is friendly to us is basically underwritten by us (with that enormous military the author decries so much) and of the top nations we have Japan, Germany, Russia, China, and several others who either tried to take over the world or nearly destroyed themselves with internal purges and wacko-nomics. England had colonies all the way around the world, so did Spain, so did France, so did Portugal, and their empires are dying embers. In the last 100 years, the USA converted nearly the entire Western hemisphere from dictatorships and socialism into free democracies. When we won wars, we refused the spoils — which is unheard of — and we send our military to 130 countries to help defend other nations — no one else comes close. Many of the numbers on the top 20 list are dummied up because our population (320 million) is so high — others appear only because of our affluence, for example car thefts because no other nation has more cars than people who are driving age. China flat-out lies about how many people they have incarcerated and most of the world’s jails and justice systems are atrocious compared to ours. This Obama madness of the past 5 years will be over someday, and all the people of the world had better pray to whatever gods they choose to believe in that America pulls back from the brink, because there is no other country that can be trusted with the position of superpower. What the Russians did to Eastern Europe, what the Chinese did to Tibet, what the Japanese did to Korea, what the Khmer Rouge did to Cambodia, these are only shadows of the great atrocities to be committed in a world that does not enjoy America’s magnificent and benevolent protection. Who could anyone possibly choose? The corrupt UN? It is to laugh.

sam44958

Go do something about it.

Wink

If my people, who are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land (2Chronicles 7:14).

Father God, we have turned away from you; rejected you, ridiculed you, and continue to blame you for our rebellion. We have aborted your creation in the name of convenience; we seek riches/fame rather than Your face; we choose pride rather than humility; we blame everyone for our brokenness despite for our laziness/entitlements. We have sinned against You (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) while we go our own way. Father give us humbled hearts to examine our own sin. We cry out to You and ask you to forgive us for our pride, arrogance, haughtiness, rebellion and sin. Guide us into all truth; help us to seek your face and not your hand; give us ears to hear so we can trust and obey You and Your Word (Holy Bible); turn our hearts in reverence to You; show us to love/serve You and love/serve one another; teach us to forget about ourselves and magnify/worship You; heal our minds, body, soul, spirit, emotions; forgive us for hating each other; forgive us for fearing man and not You. Give us a forgiving heart toward those who have handled us wrong and to bless those who have cursed us. We ask You to turn our Nation back to You and to heal our land.
We humbly ask these things, in Jesus’ Name; Amen!